FAVORITE FISH
EY JA^ A. HENSHALL
HARVARD UNIVERSITY,
LIBRARY
OF THE
MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY
GIFT OF
''^jJyxAA.aM^id /7C3^.
FEB 10 1936
FAVORITE FISH AND FISHING
Photo by A. Radclyffe Dugmore. Copyright by Countrv'ufe.
Grayling Fishing on West Fork of iMadison River, Montana.
(6fe /'age 43.)
FAVORITE FISH
AND FISHI
BY
JAMES A. HENSHALL, M.D.
Author of *' Book of the Black Bass," "Camping and Cruising in
Florida," '* Ye Gods and Little Fishes," " Bass,
Pike, Perch and Others."
*' And yf the angler take fysshe : surely the?ine is there
noo man merier than he is in his spyryte.^^
— Dame Juliana Berners.
NEW YORK
THE OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY
MCMVIII
Copyright, 1908, by
THE OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY
Entered at Stationers' Hall, London, England
AU Rights Reserved
Wo
THE MEMORY
of
JUDGE NICHOLAS LONGWORTH
My Friend and Companion
On Many Outings by
FLOOD AND FIELD
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book is based on articles originally published
in The Outing Magazme^ Country Life in America^
Shooting and Fishing, London Fishing Gazette and
The American Fishculturist. My thanks and ac-
knowledgments are hereby tendered to the publishers
of those journals for permission to embody the articles
in book form. For this purpose they have been added
to, amplified and extended. For the illustrations of
fishes I am indebted to the United States Bureau of
Fisheries, Mr. Sherman F. Denton and Dr. Frank M.
Johnson.
James Alexander Henshall.
BozEMAN, Montana.
CONTENTS
PAGE
The Black Bass: The Game-Fish of the
People ...... 3
The Grayling: The Flower of Fishes . 43
The Trout: The Angler's Pride . . 65
His Majesty: The Silver King. . .121
Florida Fish and Fishing . . • H^
ILLUSTRATIONS
Grayling Fishing on West Fork of Madison
River, Montana . . . Frontispiece
F
Black Bass Returning to Water After
ACING
PAGE
Leaping
4^
Large Mouth Black Bass ....
8
Small Mouth Black Bass ....
12
Black Bass Returning to Water After Leap
32
Michigan Grayling
46
Arctic Grayling
50-
Montana Grayling
54^
English Grayling
60
Brook Trout
66
Red Throat, or Cut-Throat Trout .
72
Steelhead Trout
So-
Rainbow Trout
bs
Dolly Varden Trout
94
Brown Trout
100
Golden Trout of Volcano Creek .
106
xi
Illustrations
FACING
PAGE
Sunapee Trout . . . » . . .114
Tarpon
. 128
Sheepshead . ...
. 142
Cavalla
• 144
Sea Trout ....
■ 146
Spanish Mackerel .
. 148
KIngfish
150
Cero
. 150
Redfish; Channel r?ass .
'54
Red Grouper ....
156
Mangrove Snapper
.;8
Ten Pounder
160
Ladyfish
160
Snook; Rovallla
164
Jewfish
s66
Shark Sucker
168
Enlarged View of Sucking Disk
168
Florida Barracuda
172
Northern Barracuda
172
Manatee ....
176
Devil Fish ....
178
Xll
THE BLACK BASS: THE GAME
FISH OF THE PEOPLE
Favorite Fish ^ Fishing
THE BLACK BASS: THE GAME
FISH OF THE PEOPLE
THESE be parlous times in angling. Parious Times
When William King, In the seven- '"^ ^"s:iing
teenth century, with as much prophecy as
humor, wrote:
"His hook he baited with a dragon's tail
And sat upon a rock and bobbed for whale, ' '
he bullded better than he knew. And if
Job had lived In the twentieth century, the
query: " Canst thou draw out Leviathan
with an hook? " would be answered In the
affirmative; also, It would be demon-
strated that " He maketh the deep to boil
like a pot," at Fort Myers and Catallna.
The shades of Walton and Cotton, of
Sir Humphrey Davy and " Christopher
3
Favorite Fish and Fishing
North," and of our own Dr. Bethune and
Thaddeus Norrls, could they " revisit the
glimpses of the moon," would view with
wonder and silent sorrow the tendency of
many anglers of the present day toward
strenuoslty, abandoning the verdure-clad
stream, with its warbling birds and fra-
grant blossoms, for the hissing steam launch
and vile-smelling motor boat in pursuit of
leaping tuna and silver king. It goes with-
out saying, however, that considered as a
sport, fishing for these jumbos is highly
exciting and capable of infusing unbounded
enthusiasm, but it can hardly be called
angling.
The Ethics of In the ethics of sport it may be ques-
tioned if there is not more real pleasure,
and at the same time a manifestation of a
higher plane of sportsmanship, in the pur-
suit of woodcock, snipe, quail or grouse
with well-trained bird-dogs, than in still-
hunting moose, elk or deer. In the former
case the bird is flushed and given a chance
for life, while in the latter case the quarry
is killed " as an ox goeth to the slaughter."
4
Sport
The Black Bass
So In fishing a like comparison is possi-
ble— fly-fishing for salmon, black bass,
trout, or grayling as against fishing for
tarpon and tuna, which are worthless when
killed except as food for sharks. In the
first case the angler's skill, and his knowl-
edge of its habits, are pitted against the
wiles of the fish, with but a weak and
slender snell of silkworm fiber between Its
capture or escape, while In the case of the
leviathans mentioned, they are handicapped
by being hooked In the gullet, and by tow-
ing a boat In their struggle for freedom.
But comparisons are always odious. While
the choice between the " gentle " art and
strenuous fishing Is certainly a question of
taste, It may depend somewhat on the
length of one's purse.
Black-bass fishing ! These are words to Black Bass
conjure with. What pleasurable emotions ^^ ^"^
they call up ! To the superannuated angler
the words are fraught with retrospective
reflections of the keenest enjoyment, while
they cause the soul of the new hand to
become obsessed with pleasures yet to
5
Angling
Favorite Fish and Fishing
come — pleasures rendered brighter by the
rosy tint of anticipation.
The Love of With the first blossoms of spring the
thoughts of many men, both old and young,
turn lightly to love — the love of angling.
And as the leaves unfold, and the birds
begin their wooing, and the streams become
clear, the premonitory symptoms of the
affection are manifested in a rummaging of
drawers and lockers for fly-books and tackle
boxes, and the critical examination of rods
and reels, and in the testing of lines and
leaders. These preliminaries are the inev-
itable harbingers of the advent of the
angling season, when black bass are leaping
gayly from the waters after their enforced
hibernation in the gloom and seclusion of
the deep pools.
And when the encroachment of age or
rheumatism forbids wading the stream, one
can still sit in a boat on a quiet lake and
enjoy to the full the delight and fascination
of " bass fishing." What farmer's boy in
the Middle West does not look forward to
a Saturday when the ground is too wet to
6
The Black Bass
plow or plant, when he can repair to the
creek or pond with his rude tackle and
realize his fond dreams of fishing for black
bass ! And when such a day arrives, as It
Is sure to do, how he hurries through the
chores, and with what sanguine hope he
digs for angle-worms In the garden, or nets
crawfish or minnows In the brook, each one
good for at least one " sockdolager " of a
bass. For It sometimes happens that a bass
will take a wriggling earth-worm or a "soft
craw " when It will not deign to notice the
choicest minnow or the most cunningly
devised artificial fly.
And the country lad always knows just Youthful
where an old " whopper " of a bronze-back
black bass has his lair beneath the roots of
a big tree, or under the ledge of a moss-
grown rock. To do future battle with
such an one has engrossed his thoughts by
day and his dreams by night, ever since the
Christmas tree for him bore such fruit as
a linen line, a red and green float and a
dozen fishhooks.
The triumphal march of a Roman war-
7
Favorite Fish and Fishing
"A Riband in rior. With captlves chained to his chariot
Youtv^ ° wheels, entering the gates of the Eternal
City with a hlare of trumpets and the
applause oi the nuiltitude. was an event to
fill his soul with just pride — but it descends
to the level oi vainglory and mediocrity
when compared with the swelling heart of
the lad as he enters the farmhouse kitchen
with two or three old " lunkers " of black
bass strung on a willow withe. Many
times during his homeward march had he
halted to admire the scale armor and spiny
crests oi his captive knights!
And then to an appreciative audience he
relates, in a graphic manner, how this one
seized a minnow, and that one a crawfish,
and the other one a hellgramite — and how
often each one leaped from the water,
and how high it jumped — and how the
" ellum " rod bent and twisted as the large
one tried to regain the hole under the big
rock — and how the good line cut the water
in curving reaches and straight lines as
another one forged toward the sunken roots
of the old sycamore. And then came the
8
The Black Bass
climax, as, with pride and regret struggling
for mastery, and " suiting the action to the
word and the word to the action," he tells
again the old, old story of how the biggest
of all, a regular '' snolllgoster," shook out
the hook and got away !
In the years to come, will that lad exult
over the capture of a mighty tuna or giant
tarpon with as much genuine joy and
enthusiasm as over that string of bass?
Well, hardly. And as the boy Is father to
the man, and as we are all but children of
larger growth, the black-bass angler never
outlives that love and enthusiasm of his
younger days— younger only as reckoned
by the lapse of years.
Although the black bass, as a game fish, in oiden Time
has come into his own only during the last
two or three decades, black-bass fishing
IS older than the Federal Union. The
quaint old naturalist, William Bartram, the
"grandfather of American ornithology,"
in 1764, described, minutely, "bobbing'"
for black bass In Florida, there, as in all
the Southern States, called ''trout "—a
9
Favorite Fish and Fishing
name bestowed by the English colonists
owing to its gameness. While black-bass
fishing is comparatively a recent sport in
the Eastern States, it was practiced in Ken-
tucky, Tennessee and southern Ohio before
the end of the eighteenth century. In 1805
George Snyder, the inventor of the Ken-
tucky reel, was president of the Bourbon
County Angling Club at Paris, Kentucky.
Fly-fishing was practiced as early as 1840
on the Elkhorn and Kentucky rivers by Mr.
J. L. Sage and others. His click reel, made
by himself, is now in my possession; and
George Snyder's own reel, made in 18 10,
a small brass multiplying reel running on
garnet jewels. Is still In the possession of
his grandson at Louisville.
Appearance and ^j^g black bass Is now an acknowledged
peer among game fishes, and taking him by
and large excels them all, weight for
weight. The generic term black bass, as
here used. Includes both the large-mouth
bass and the small-mouth bass. The two
species are as much alike as two peas in a
pod, the most striking dlf^ference between
10
The Black Bass
them being that one has a larger mouth
and larger scales than the other. When
subject to the same conditions and environ-
ment, they are equal in game qualities.
The habits of the two species are similar,
though the large-mouth bass is more at
home in ponds and weedy waters than the
small-mouth bass, which prefers running
streams and clear lakes. Their natural
food is crawfish, for which their wide
mouths and brush-like teeth are well
adapted, though they do not object to an
occasional minnow or small frog.
Owing to the wide distribution of black Now and Then
bass, fishing for it Is universal. It Is no
less enjoyed by the rustic youth with peeled
sapling rod and crawfish bait than by the
artistic angler with slender wand and fairy-
like flies. While black-bass fishing was
known and practiced in the Ohio Valley
from the earliest years of the nineteenth
century, as just stated, our angling books
for three-fourths of the century contained
but little. If anything, about the black bass,
as they were mostly compilations from
II
Favorite Fish and Fishing
English authors. The only exception were
the books of Robert B. Roosevelt, an uncle
of the President, who fished for black bass
In Canada about i860. At the present day
there are more articles of fishing tackle
made especially for black bass than for all
other game fishes combined. This Is proof
that It Is the most popular and, all things
considered, the best game fish of America.
The Charm of Salmon fishlng, the grandest sport In the
Angling , ^' . ° ^
curriculum or anglmg, is now an expensive
luxury. There is but little free water
readily accessible, for all the best pools are
In the possession of wealthy clubs. The
bold leap of the salmon, when hooked, the
exciting play of the fish on the rod, and
the successful gafling, are as so many stan-
zas of an epic poem. Trout fishing Is a
summer Idyl. The angler wades the merry
stream while the leaves whisper and rustle
overhead, the birds chirp and sing, the
Insects drone and hum, the cool breeze fans
his cheek, as he casts his feathery lures,
hither and yon, In eager expectation of a
rise.
12
■to
CQ
The Black Bass
Black-bass fishing combines, in a meas-
ure, the heroic potentialities of salmon fish-
ing with the charms of trout fishing. The
leap of the bass is no less exciting than that
of the salmon, and is oftener repeated,
while in stream fishing the pastoral fea-
tures of trout fishing are experienced and
enjoyed.
The leap of a hooked fish is always an The Leap of
exciting episode to the angler with red ^^^^*^
blood in his veins — exciting because as an
offset to its probable capture there is the
very possible contingency of its escape by
throwing out the hook, or by breaking
away. So with each leap of the bass the
hopes and fears of the angler are constantly
exercised, while his pulses quicken and his
enthusiasm is aroused. Game fishes often
leap a few inches above the surface in play,
or to catch a low-flying insect; but when
hooked they vault to a height commensurate
with their agility and muscular ability.
They do not leap so high, however, as is
commonly supposed.
A tarpon will leap six feet high, but the
13
Favorite Fish and Fishing
cero, or Florida kingfish, will leap higher,
for It Is the greatest vaulter of them all.
Vaulting yj^g ladyfish executes a series of short,
whirling leaps that puzzle the eye to fol-
low— It Is the gamest fish for Its size in salt
water. The leap of the flying-fish is sus-
tained for a long distance by Its wing-like
pectoral fins, on the principle of the aero-
plane, though its sole motive power is
probably derived from Its tail before leav-
ing the water. The salt-water mullet is an
expert jumper, leaping often in play, but
when pursued by an enemy Its leaps are
higher and longer than would be expected
from its size. The brook trout, pike, and
mascalonge seldom leap when hooked,
though the steelhead trout and grayling
both leap nearly as often as the black bass
in their efforts to dislodge the hook. The
leap of the salmon Is a long, graceful curve,
as it heads up stream. Once, while playing
my first salmon, on the Restlgouche, many
years ago, my taut line was leading straight
down the stream, when I caught sight of a
salmon over my shoulder and above me,
14
The Black Bass
Black Bass
leaping from the surface, which, to my sur-
prise, proved to be my hooked fish — the
line making a long detour In the swift
water.
I have heard many anglers declare that Leap of the
a black bass could leap five feet high, when
as a matter of fact they leap but a few
Inches, usually, and occasionally one, or at
most three feet, though I think two feet
nearer the limit. By an examination of
Mr. A. Radcliffe Dugmore's photograph,
reproduced herewith. It will readily be seen
that the leaps are not very high ones.
A black bass Is In the air but a second or
two, and to catch him In the act as Mr.
Dugmore has done must be considered a
wonderful achievement. The picture shows
the bass returning to the water, with either
the head or the shoulders at, or beneath, the
surface, while the displaced water at his
point of emergence still shows plainly —
standing up, as It were. This proves that
the bass regains the surface as soon as the
displaced water, or rather before the up-
heaved water finds Its level, which could
15
Favorite Fish and Fishing
not be the case were the leaps three or four
feet high.
J^aV*"^ ^^^^ ^^y ^^^^ ^ hooked bass leap from the
water? This question Is sometimes raised,
though the answer Is plain. He leaps Into
the air to endeavor to dislodge the hook;
this he tries to do by violently shaking his
body, with widely extended jaws. He does
not " shake his head," as Is often said, for
having no flexible neck, his head can only
be thrown from side to side by the violent
contortions of his body, often using the
water as a fulcrum, when he appears to be
standing on his tail. A dog or a cat will
shake Its head vigorously to eject some
offending substance from the mouth, and a
bass does the same thing; but as he cannot
shake his body to the extent required be-
neath the surface, owing to the resistance
of the water, he leaps above It. And If he
succeeds In throwing out the hook he disap-
pears beneath the surface and Is seen no
more; his object in leaping has been
accomplished.
Usually, it Is only surface-feeding fishes
i6
The Black Bass
that leap when hooked. Bottom-feeding
fishes bore toward the bottom or struggle
in mid-water. Every fish has its character-
istic way of resisting capture, but any fish
is more easily subdued if kept on the surface
by the skill of the angler and the use of
good and trustworthy tackle.
The manner of taking a bait also varies Their Way with
considerably with different fishes; and the * ^^^
character of their teeth is a good guide to
what they feed on. For instance, the cun-
ner and sheepshead are expert bait stealers.
With their incisor teeth their habit is to
pinch off barnacles and other mollusks from
their attachment to rocks and old timbers,
and so they nip off the clam or crab bait
from the hook with but little disturbance.
A trout takes a fly or bait with a vigorous
snap, without investigation as to its nature,
and a black bass does much the same, giv-
ing immediate and unmistakable notice to
the angler that there is " something doing."
The black bass is one of the few fishes
that protects its eggs and young. It forms
its nest on gravelly or rocky shoals or shal-
17
Favorite Fish and Fishing
Breeding Habits lows, usually, but when such situations are
not available, clay or mud bottom, or the
roots of aquatic plants are utilized, espe-
cially by the large-mouth bass. During
Incubation the eggs are guarded and tended
by the parent fish, and hatch In ten days or
two weeks, the fry remaining on the nest,
guarded by the male fish, for several days,
when they disperse to find suitable hiding
places, feeding on minute organisms that
abound In all natural waters.
Spawning 'pj^g Spawning season of the black bass
Season . • i Ti
vanes considerably, owmg to its extensive
range and consequent variation In the tem-
perature of waters. In Florida and the
extreme South It Is as early as March or
April, In the Middle West In May or June,
and at the northern limit of Its distribution
as late as July. Owing to this variation,
laws to protect the species during the breed-
ing season must vary accordingly. As the
brooding fish are easily taken from their
nests with snare, jig or spear, the laws for
their protection should be rigidly enforced,
otherwise a pond or small lake might soon
i8
The Black Bass
Weight
be depleted where the poacher Is much in
evidence.
The large-mouth bass grows to a maxi- f^f^.^J^
mum weight of six to eight pounds in
Northern waters, where it hibernates, but
in Florida and the Gulf States, where it is
active all the year, it grows much larger,
in Florida to twenty pounds in rare cases.
The small-mouth bass has a maximum
weight of five or six pounds, though several
have been recorded of fully ten pounds,
from a lake near Glens Falls, N. Y. As
usual with most other game fishes, the
largest bass, as a rule, are taken with bait.
For instance, the heaviest I ever took in
Florida on the artificial fly weighed four-
teen pounds, and with bait, twenty pounds.
In Northern waters the heaviest catch with
the fly, of small-mouth bass, seldom exceeds
three pounds — usually from one to tw^o
pounds, and for large-mouth bass a pound
or two more, while with bait larger fish of
both species may be taken.
Owing to the variable conditions men-
tioned the season for black-bass fishing
19
Season for
Fishing
Distribution
Favorite Fish and Fishing
varies likewise In different sections of the
country. Thus, both bait- and fly-fishing
are practiced In Florida during winter. In
the Middle West — Kentucky, Tennessee,
Ohio, Missouri, etc. — bait-fishing Is avail-
able in the early spring, and fly-fishing as
well as bait-fishing in mid-summer and fall.
In the Northern States and Canada both
bait- and fly-fishing are at their best during
late summer and the fall months.
The original habitats of the black bass,
either of one or both species, were the
hydrographic basins of the St. Lawrence,
Ohio and Mississippi Rivers. Only the
large-mouth existed In the seaboard streams
of the South Atlantic and Gulf States. By
transplantation the black bass Is now a res-
ident of every state in the Union. It will
thrive In any water the temperature of
which runs up to sixty-five degrees or more
In summer. It is one of the best fishes to
Introduce to new waters where the proper
conditions exist, but should never, for
obvious reasons, be planted In the same
waters with any species of trout.
20
The Black Bass
As instances ot new waters in which its increase m
. 1 , , T->. 1 o New Waters
increase was rapid, the Delaware, I^usque-
hanna and Potomac Rivers may be men-
tioned. In 1854 thirty small-mouth bass,
about six inches long, were taken from a
creek near Wheeling, W. Va., and placed
in the Potomac near Cumberland, Md.
From this small plant the entire river above
the Great Falls, and all its tributaries, be-
came well stocked, and has afforded fine
fishing for years.
In former years the black bass was quite Commercial
an important commercial fish in the Middle ^^^^^"S
West, but since the enactment of laws pro-
hibiting seining and net-fishing of streams
it is not often seen in the markets, and then
it is mostly from private ponds. In the
States of Washington and Utah, however,
where it was planted in some rather large
lakes years ago, the markets are pretty well
supplied with this delicious fish, for, bar-
ring the lake whitefish, it is the best food-
fish of fresh waters. Owing to the well
known improvidence of market fishermen
it would be well to prohibit Its sale entirely
21
Propagation
Character of
Eggs
Favorite Fish and Fishing
In all sections of the country when taken
from public waters.
Owing to the desirability of the black
bass for stocking waters, the demand for
both private and public streams and ponds
Is far in excess of the supply. Undoubtedly
the best plan for stocking Is that of plant-
ing adult fish, as already alluded to. But
owing to the difficulty of obtaining adult
fish, the energies of fish culturlsts have for
years been directed to a solution of the
question of supply. So far, however, their
efforts have been but partially successful.
The eggs of the salmon, trout, grayling,
shad, whitefish, etc., can be stripped from
the fish, can be separated and manipulated
as easily as so much shot, and made to
respond readily to fish-cultural methods.
But the eggs of the black bass are envel-
oped in a gelatinous mass that precludes
stripping, and their separation is extremely
difficult, If not impossible. Consequently
any attempt at their incubation by the usual
hatchery methods would prove futile.
The only feasible and successful plan Is
22
The Black Bass
that of pond culture. Of this there are sev- Pond Culture
eral methods. One either allows the bass
to proceed with their parental cares in a
natural manner; or early separates the par-
ent fish from the young fry, which are then
fed and reared to the desired age for plant-
ing. The United States Bureau of Fish-
eries and several of the individual states
pursue this plan, and supply the fry to
applicants free of charge.
There are certain bayous and depressions Millions Saved
along the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers
and other streams In that section which are
overflowed during high water. When the
water recedes many black bass and other
fishes are left in the bayous, which would
eventually perish upon the drying up of the
water. It Is the practice of the National
and several state fish commissions to seine
out the fish and transfer them to suitable
waters, or to applicants, free of expense.
In this way many waters are stocked and
millions of fish saved that would otherwise
perish.
The black bass rises to the artificial fly
23
Favorite Fish and Fishing
Ply Fishing as readily as the trout or grayling, if fished
for intelligently. The trout takes the fly
at or near the surface, while it should be
allowed to sink a few inches at nearly every
cast for black bass, the same as for gray-
ling. As to flies, any of the hackles, brown,
black or gray, are enticing to bass, and such
w^inged flies as Montreal, polka, professor,
coachman, silver doctor and a dozen others
are very taking on most waters. The most
important rules for fly-fishing, or casting
the minnow, are to cast a straight line, keep
it taut, and to strike on sight or touch of
the fish; that Is when the swirl Is seen near
the fly, or when the fish is felt. Striking is
simply a slight turning of the rod hand
while keeping the line very taut. But more
Important than all other rules Is to keep out
of sight of the fish. The flies should be
lightly cast, and by slight tremulous mo-
tions made to simulate the struggles of a
live insect, and then allowed to sink a few
Inches or a foot. From five o'clock in the
afternoon until dusk is usually the best time
for fly-fishing.
24
The Black Bass
The best natural bait Is the minnow — a Bait Fishing
shiner, chub, or the young of almost any
fish, which Is well adapted for either cast-
ing, trolling or stUl-iishlng. In waters
where It abounds the crawfish Is a good
bait, especially the shedders or soft craws,
to be used only for still-fishlng. The hell-
'gramlte, the larva of the corydalls fly, In Its
native waters, Is also successful for stUl-
fishlng. A small frog Is a capital bait on
weedy waters, w^here It Is usually cast over-
head with a very short and stiff rod.
Grasshoppers and crickets are sometimes
employed with a fly-rod In lieu of artificial
flies, and with good results. The salt-water
shrimp, where It Is available, near the
coasts. Is also a good bait for stUl-fishlng.
Cut-bait Is also sometimes useful.
In the absence of natural bait a spoon Artificial Bait
or spinner, w^th a single hook — and more
than one should not be used by the humane
angler — Is well adapted for casting or
trolling. It should be remembered that all
baits, of whatever kind, should be kept In
motion. A dead minnow answers as well
25
Favorite Fish and Fishing
as a live one for casting or trolling, but
should be alive for still-fishing. With
crawfish, worms, shrimps or hellgramites a
float should be employed to keep them from
touching the bottom.
Bait-Casting In casting the minnow It should be
hooked through the lips, and reeled In
slowly after each cast to Imitate the motions
of a live one as much as possible. A spoon
or spinner should be reeled In much faster
in order to cause It to revolve freely. The
most effective way of casting, either with
minnow or spoon, Is by the underhand
method; nearly as long, and more delicate
casts can be made as by the overhead cast
with short, stiff rod. The mechanics of
fly- or bait-casting can hardly be expressed
In words or explained without diagrams or
cuts. The best plan for beginners Is to
accompany an old hand to the stream and
witness the practical demonstration of the
art.
Fishing Rods A trout fly-rod answers just as well for
black bass, with a weight of from five to
eight ounces, according to the material and
26
The Black Bass
plan of construction, and whether employed
by an expert or a tyro. The rod for min-
now casting, or indeed for any method of
bait-fishing, should be from eight to eight
and a half feet long and from seven to
eight ounces in weight, as larger fish are
taken with bait. For casting the frog In
weedy waters a short, stiff rod of five or
SIX feet Is used by many. A few words In
reference to the origin of this short rod
may not be amiss, especially as I wish to
make It a matter of record.
At the time of the Chicago Fair, In 1893, The short Bait-
my old friend, James M. Clark, a good ^^ ^"^
angler, was superintendent of the fishing-
tackle department of a large sporting goods
house in that city. He Informed me that
he had devised a rod especially Intended
for casting a frog for black bass and pike
on certain weedy waters not far from
Chicago.
The said rod was made by reducing the
regular eight-and-one-fourth-foot Henshall
rod to six feet, and it soon became popular
on the waters mentioned, for by casting
27
Favorite Fish and Fishing
overhead, instead of underhand, more accu-
rate line shots could be made into the small
open spaces. As the weedy character of
the waters rendered the proper playing of
a bass difficult or ineffectual, the short, stiff
rod proved itself capable of rapidly reeling
in the fish, willy nilly. Of course the pleas-
ure of playing a fish in a workmanlike man-
ner, as in open water, would be lost, to say
nothing of denying the fish a chance for its
life by depriving it of a fair field and no
favor — the only sportsmanlike way.
Casting Baits Eventually the short rod and overhead
cast became popular at casting tournaments,
where it was also demonstrated that by
reducing its length to five and even four
feet longer casts were possible. Unfor-
tunately the use of this very short and stiff
rod was extended to practical fishing, and
with Its use was evolved a number of cast-
ing baits that out-herod anything yet pro-
duced In the way of objectionable artificial
baits. They are huge, clumsy creations of
wood or metal, of an elliptical form or
otherwise, and bristle with from three to
28
The Black Bass
five triangles of cheap hooks; they are
painted In a fantastic manner, and most of
them are also equipped with wings or
propellers.
The extremely short tournament tool of Twin Evils
five feet, called by courtesy a rod, when
employed In angling, and the cruel and
murderous casting baits with twelve to fif-
teen hooks, are, In my opinion, twin evils
which should be tabooed by every fair-
minded and humane angler. So far as the
short rod itself Is concerned, I have always
commended Its use for tournament work,
but I do not favor It for open-water fishing,
for reasons already given. This use of it
Is a matter for the consideration of those
who choose to employ it. For myself, I
have always found the eight-foot rod and
horizontal, underhand cast equal to all
emergencies of fishing for black bass, pike
and mascalonge. In overhead casting the
bait Is started on Its flight from a height of
ten or twelve feet, and necessarily makes
quite a splash when It strikes the water. On
the other hand, with the horizontal cast the
29
Lines and
Hooks
Leaders and
Snells
Favorite Fish and Fishing
minnow Is projected to the desired spot
with very little disturbance.
The only line that fulfills all require-
ments for fly-fishing as to weight and
smoothness of finish Is one of enameled,
braided silk, either level or tapered. For
casting the minnow the smallest size of
braided, undressed silk Is the only one to
use with satisfaction. For trolling or stUl-
fishlng a larger size may be employed, or
a flax line of the smallest caliber.
Among the many patterns of fishhooks
the Sproat Is the best and the O'Shaugh-
nessy next, as being strong, well-tempered
and reliable, and of practicable shape. The
modern eyed-hooks. If of the best quality,
can be used for both balt-fishing and fly-
tying. Sizes of hooks for balt-fishing In
Northern waters, Nos. i and 2 ; for Florida,
Nos. i-o and 2-0; for artificial flies, Nos.
2 to 6.
Leaders for fly-fishing and stlU-fishlng
should be four, or not more than six, feet
long, of good, sound and uniformly round
silkworm gut. A leader Is not used In cast-
30
The Black Bass
ing or trolling the minnow or spoon. Snells
should likewise be made of the best silk-
worm fiber, three to four inches long for
artificial flies, and not less than six inches
for bait-fishing. It is no advantage to stain
or tint leaders or snells, as they are more
readily discerned by the fish than those of
the natural hyaline color; and the more
transparent, the less they show in the
water.
And now as to reels. A light, single- Fishing Reels
action click reel is the best and most appro-
priate for fly-fishing, and may be either all
metal or hard rubber and metal combined,
the former being preferable. It can be
utilized for still-fishing also, w^here long
casting is not practiced. But for casting
the minnow a multiplying reel of the finest
quality is required, and the thumb must be
educated to exert just the right amount of
uniform pressure on the spool during the
flight of the minnow, to prevent its back-
lashing and the resultant overrunning and
snarling of the line. This can only be mas-
tered by careful practice. As most fine
31
Favorite Fish and Fishing
multipliers are fitted with an adjustable
click, it can be utilized also for fly-fishing,
but it is rather heavy for the lightest fly-
rods. While an automatic reel answers
very well for trout fishing on small streams,
its spring is too light to control the move-
ments of a fish as large and gamesome as
the black bass.
Something It may not be amiss, in this connection,
Reels °^ to venture a few remarks on reels in gen-
eral. Elsewhere I have made the state-
ment that the most important office of a
rod was in the management of the hooked
fish, and not in casting the fly or bait. Per
contra, the chief function of the multiply-
ing reel is in casting the bait, and not in
reeling in the fish. The office and inten-
tion of the gearing of the multiplying reel
is to prolong and sustain the initial momen-
tum of the cast, in order that the bait may
be projected to a greater distance than is
possible with any single-action reel. This
Is proven by the fact that there have been
several devices invented whereby the han-
dle, wheel and pinion of the reel are thrown
32
The Black Bass
Use
out of gear to allow greater freedom to the
rev^olvlng spool in casting. The theory
looked feasible enough, but actual practice
demonstrated that without the sustaining
aid of the gears the momentum was soon
lost, with the result that the bait could not
be cast so far. All such devices have now
been abandoned as utterly futile.
So far as the skillful management of a The Reel in
hooked fish Is concerned, the multiplying
reel is no better than the single-action click
reel. For tarpon, tuna, and other very
large fishes, where " pumping " Is practiced
on the hooked fish, the largest multiplying
reel is of advantage in rapidly taking up the
resultant slack line. And so far as "power"
is concerned, in reeling in the fish on a
strain, the single-action reel has the advan-
tage, for the force applied to the crank acts
directly on the shaft of the spool, while In
the multiplying reel much of the force Is lost
by being distributed through the gears to
the shaft.
There Is a tendency of late years, espe- Position of Reel
dally with the heavy rods for tuna and tar-
33
on Rod
Favorite Fish and Fishing
The Reel on pon fishing, and also with the very short
°^ rod used in overhead casting for black bass,
to place the reel on top with the handle to
the right. While that plan is, in most cases,
a matter of choice or habit, it is essentially
wrong. Neither multiplying or click reels
were intended to be used in that position,
and because some anglers prefer to place
them so is no argument that it is right.
The Reel Placing the reel on the top of the rod, on
Underneath -. • i i • i ■, • i j
a line with the guides, and grasping the rod
loosely where it balances, the reel naturally,
and in accordance with the law of gravita-
tion, turns to the under side of the rod. No
muscular effort is required to keep it there,
as is the case where the reel is used on top,
w^hich with heavy reels is considerable. The
reel and guides being on the under side
when playing a fish, the strain is upon the
guides, and is equally distributed along the
entire rod, while with the reel guides on top
the strain is almost entirely on the extreme
tip of the rod, and the friction is much
greater.
With the multiplying reel underneath
34
The Black Bass
and the handle to the right, the rod is held The Right Way
at nearly its balancing point, with the rod
hand partly over the reel, with the index
or middle finger, or both, just forward of
the reel, to guide the line on the spool in
reeling. The click reel being entirely be-
hind the rod hand, and underneath, at the
extreme butt, the rod can be grasped at its
balancing point by the left hand, and the
line reeled with the other.
Where the multiplying reel is placed The Wrong
on top, with the handle to the right, and
the thumb used for guiding the line on the
spool, there is a constant tendency of the
reel to get to the under side, where it prop-
erly belongs. To overcome this wabbling
of the reel, and to insure more steadiness,
the butt of the rod is braced against the
stomach by the reel-on-top anglers — cer-
tainly a most ungraceful and unbecoming
thing to do with a light rod. With the
tarpon or tuna rod, and with the reel either
on top or underneath, a socket for the rod
butt becomes necessary in playing a very
heavy fish.
35
Casting and
Playing
Trolling
Favorite Fish and Fishing
In casting from the reel with a light -rod
it is turned partly or entirely on top, with
the right thumb on the spool. When the
cast is made the rod is at once transferred
to the left hand in the position for reeling
in the line, with the index finger pressing
it against the rod. The fish can be played
with the left hand, leaving the right hand
free to reel when necessary. Or in case a
fish is unusually heavy and its resistance is
great, the rod can be taken in the right
hand, with the thumb on the spool to con-
trol the giving of line. When the oppor-
tunity occurs for reeling, the rod is again
transferred to the left hand.
It is very much easier to use the reel un-
derneath when one becomes accustomed to
it, and it has been used in this way for
centuries by the British angler. As the reel
originated in England, it is to be presumed
that the manufacturers and anglers of that
country know its proper position on the rod.
While fly-fishing and casting the minnow
may be practiced wherever the black bass is
found, on stream or lake, there are other
36
The Black Bass
methods of angling that depend somewhat
on local conditions. Trolling with the min-
now or trolllng-spoon Is sometimes prac-
ticed on lakes, as In Michigan, Wisconsin
and Minnesota. There Is no skill whatever
required for trolling with handllne and
spoon, as the bass hooks himself, when
hooked at all, and Is simply dragged Into
the boat without ceremony. It Is a method
of fishing that would better be " honored
In the breach, than the observance." And
as the rod generally used for trolling Is
rather stiff and heavy. It does not require
the skill and cleverness to play and land the
fish that are demanded by the light and pli-
able rods employed In casting the fly or
minnow.
Skittering with a pork-rInd bait Is prac- other Methods
ticed on some Eastern ponds, and casting
the frog overhead with a very short rod Is
a method that originated with some Chicago
anglers. Fishing with one or a group of
hooks dressed with a portion of a deer's
tall and a strip of red flannel, forming a
kind of tassel and known as a "bob," Is
37
Favorite Fish and Fishing
practiced in the Gulf States. A very long
cane rod and a very short line comprise the
rest of the equipment. The bob is danced
on the surface in front of the boat in the
weedy bayous, and is certainly effective in
catching bass.
Still-Fishing Still-fishing from the bank or a boat may
be practiced wherever bass are found. Any
kind of rod is used, from a sapling to a
split-bamboo, with almost any kind of line
or hook, and natural bait of any kind may
be employed, with or without a float. It is
the primitive style of angling. I think the
paradise of the still-fisher may be found on
a Florida lake. Anchoring his boat near
the shore, just outside of the fringe of pond-
lilies and bonnets, he splits the stem of a
water lily, takes from it a small worm that
harbors there, impales it on his hook, and
casts it in a bight amid the rank growth of
vegetation, where it is soon taken by a min-
now of some sort, which in turn is cast into
the deeper water beyond the border of
aquatic plants, on the other side of the boat,
where a big bass is lying in wait for just
38
The Black Bass
such an opportunity. And so he proceeds, Ad infinitum
ad uifjfiititm, casting on one side of the boat
for his bait, and on the other side for his
bass. " First the blade, then the ear, after
that the full corn in the ear."
39
THE GRAYLING: THE FLOWER
OF FISHES
THE GRAYLING: THE FLOWER
OF FISHES
ST. AMBROSE, the good Bishop of
Milan, in a sermon to the fishes, apos-
trophized the grayling as the " flower of
fishes," as being the most beautiful, fra-
grant and sweetest of all the finny tribe.
The saintly bishop was quite right in his
estimation of the graceful, gliding gray-
ling. It possesses a refined beauty and
delicacy that is seen in no other fish, and it
well merits its appellation of the " lady of
the streams."
Dame Juliana Berners, prioress of the Dame Juliana
nunnery of Sopwell, near St. Albans, Eng- ^^^^^^^
land, was the author of the first book on
angling in the English language — printed
in 1496. This " Treatyse of Fysshynge
with an Angle " has served as the inspira-
tion and model for all subsequent angling
authors from Izaak Walton to the present
43
Favorite Fish and Fishing
day. Dame Juliana was really the first
author to mention fly-fishing in a definite
sense, though i^lian in his " History of
Animals," A.D. 230, says that the Mace-
donians fished in the river Astraeus with an
Imitation of a fly called hippiirus.
Dame Juliana in her treatise gives a list
of " XII flyes wyth whyche ye shall angle
to ye trought and grayllyng " ; and now,
after the lapse of four centuries, artificial
flies constructed after her formulas would
prove as successful as any of the new
fangled, up-to-date creations. In fact, most
of her flies are in use to-day under various
names; and any of them tied on very small
hooks would answer admirably for the
graylings of America.
The Graylings There are three closely allied species of
grayling in America, and two or three In
Europe. Wherever found they Inhabit the
coldest and clearest streams. Their distri-
bution in this country is restricted to well-
defined and limited areas. One, known as
the Arctic grayling. Is abundant In Alaska
and the adjoining Mackenzie district of
44
The Grayling
Grayling
British Cokimbla. A second species is
native to Michigan, and the third Is found
only In Montana.
The first mention of the grayling and The Arctic
grayling fishing in America was that of Sir
John Richardson, in the narrative of the
Franklin Expedition to the North Pole, in
1819. Dr. Richardson called it "Bach's
Grayling " in honor of a fellow officer, a
midshipman of that name, who took the
first one on the fly. He gave it the techni-
cal specific name of signifer, meaning
" standard bearer," in allusion to Its tall
and brilliant dorsal fin.
Regarding the gameness of the grayling,
Dr. Richardson says: "This beautiful fish
inhabits strong rapids ... It bites
eagerly at the artificial fly and, deriving
great power from its large dorsal fin,
affords much sport to the angler. The
grayling generally springs entirely out of
the water when first struck by the hook, and
tugs strongly at the line, requiring as much
dexterity to land It safely as It would to
secure a trout of six times the size."
45
The Michigan
Grayling
The Montana
Grayling
Favorite Fish and Fishing
The Michigan grayhng, in early days,
was known to lumbermen and trappers as
" Michigan trout," " white trout," " Craw-
ford County trout," etc. It was first de-
scribed by Dr. Edward D. Cope, in 1865,
who gave it the specific name of tri-color,
in allusion to the gay coloration of the dor-
sal fin. Until recent years it was abundant
in streams of the lower peninsula of Michi-
gan rising from an elevated sandy plateau
and flowing into Lakes Huron and Michi-
gan and the Strait of Mackinac. In a few
streams flowing into Pine Lake and Lake
Michigan, as Pine, Boyne, Jordan, etc., it
co-existed with the brook trout, but farther
south, especially in the Manistee and the Au
Sable rivers and their tributaries, the gray-
ling alone existed. In the upper penin-
sula it also existed in Otter Creek, near
Keweenaw.
The Montana grayling, though men-
tioned by Lewis and Clarke from the Jef-
ferson River (to which fact I have recently
called attention), was not recognized until
seventy years later, when Professor J. W.
46
bJO
i-
C
c
The Grayling
Milner discovered and named it montanus,
In 1872. So now we have the three species,
Thymallus signifer, Thymallus tri-color,
and Thymallus montanus. The generic
name Thymallus is a very ancient one, and
w^as bestowed originally because an odor of
thyme was said by the Greeks to emanate
from a freshly caught grayling. In our
day the odor of thyme Is not apparent,
though when just out of the water It diffuses
a faint and pleasant odor not unlike that
from a freshly cut cucumber.
The structural differences between the Morphology of
three American graylings are so slight that
they would be scarcely recognized by the
lay angler, therefore a general description
will probably answer. It is a slender, grace-
fully formed fish, with a body about five
times longer than its depth, and rather thin,
or compressed, on the order of the lake her-
ring or cisco, or the Rocky Mountain white-
fish. From this slight resemblance there Is
an erroneous notion quite current in Mon-
tana that it Is a cross between the whitefish
and the trout.
47
the Graylings
Characteristic
Feature
Coloration
Its Peculiar
Eye
Favorite Fish and Fishing
Its characteristic feature is the tall dor-
sal fin, beautifully decorated with a rose-
colored border, and oblong spots of various
sizes of rose-pink ocellated with blue, green
or whrte. The height of the fin is about
one-fourth the length of the fish; I have
several specimens of fins that are four inches
tall, from fish not more than sixteen inches
long.
When first out of the water the grayling
might be compared to a fish of mother-of-
pearl, owing to the beautiful iridescence,
wherein are displayed all the colors of the
spectrum in subdued tints of lilac, pink,
green, blue and purple, with the back pur-
plish gray, and a few dark, small spots on
the forward part of the body. The gray-
lings are closely allied to the trout family,
having an adipose second dorsal fin.
The eye of all graylings is peculiar, the
pupil being pyriform or pear-shaped. In
all illustrations of American graylings that
I have seen, except photographs, the artist
has drawn the pupil perfectly round, as In
most fishes. The only exception is that of
48
The Grayling
the painting of the Montana grayling, by
A. D. Turner, that accompanies the mag-
nificent work, '' Forest, Lake and River,''
by Dr. F. M. Johnson.
The grayling having but few teeth, and Food and
those small and slender, its food conse-
quently consists of insects and their larvae.
It prefers swift streams with sandy or grav-
elly bottom, and loves the deep pools, where
It lies in small schools. Occasionally It ex-
tends its search for food to adjacent streams
strewn with small rocks and bowlders. Its
maximum weight Is one and a half pounds,
very rarely reaching two pounds.
The Arctic grayling is still abundant in Comparative
the Yukon and other rivers of Alaska. On
the contrary, the Michigan grayling, though
plentiful twenty years ago, Is now nearly
extinct, owing to the extensive lumbering
Industry. All the graylings spawn in April
and May In very shallow water, and the
eggs hatch within two weeks. As this is
also the time when the saw-logs descend the
streams on the spring rise, they plow
through the spawning beds, destroying both
49
Favorite Fish and Fishing
eggs and newly hatched fry. The annual
recurrence of these circumstances for many
years has resulted, unfortunately, in the
In Michigan passing of the Michigan grayling. Over-
fishing and the incursion of the trout have
been mentioned as probable causes, but
neither factor could possibly have produced
the present state of things. The streams
have since been stocked with brook and
rainbow trout, and efforts are being made
to introduce the Montana grayling.
In Montana In Montana the grayling is restricted to
tributaries of the Missouri River above the
Great Falls, except where recently planted.
Until within the past few years it inhabited
only the three forks of the Missouri — the
Gallatin, Madison and Jefferson rivers and
tributaries — and Smith River and tributa-
ries below the three forks. It is still abun-
dant in these waters and lives in amity, as
it has done for all time, with the red-throat
trout and Rocky Mountain whitefish.
That the grayling should inhabit only the
widely separated regions of Alaska, Michi-
gan and Montana is remarkable. The Arc-
50
The Grayling
tic grayling is regarded as the parent stock, Distribution
while the others are possibly relics of the
glacial period. This seems probable in con-
nection with the fact that in the mountains
where the sources of the Jefferson River
arise, there is a deep lake, some four miles
long (Elk Lake), that in addition to gray-
ling Is Inhabited by the Great Lake, or
Mackinaw, trout. This trout is found no-
where else west of the Great Lakes except
in Canada.
Beginning with 1874 numerous attempts Propagation of
were made to propagate the Michigan gray- ^ ^ ^^^ ^"^
ling artificially, but after repeated failures
all effort In this direction was abandoned.
When a station of the U. S. Fish Commis-
sion was established at Bozeman, Mon-
tana, In 1897, the Commission, under my
supervision, began a series of experiments In
grayling culture, resulting In complete suc-
cess, so that for several years millions of
grayling have been hatched and planted,
and millions of eggs have been shipped to
other stations of the Bureau, where they
have been hatched and planted In Eastern
51
Favorite Fish and Fishing
waters. It Is hoped that they may find a
suitable home In some of the streams thus
stocked. At the Bozeman station they have
been reared to maturity, and eggs taken
from these domesticated fish have been
hatched. This Is considered a triumph In
fish-culture. Grayling eggs, by the way,
are smaller than trout eggs, while the newly
hatched fry are only about one-fourth of
an Inch long, and are quite weak for several
days.
Origin of Name The English name " grayling " Is doubt-
less derived from Its appearance In the
water, where It glides along like a swiftly
moving gray shadow. In Germany It Is
called asche, from Its gray or ash color In
the water. One of Its old names In Eng-
land on some streams was " umber,'' a name
of like significance.
As a Game and As a gamc-fish, the grayling Is considered
by those who know It best, both In this
country and England, when of correspond-
ing size, equal to, If not superior to, the
brown trout of England, the brook trout
of Michigan, or the red-throat trout of
52
Food-Fish
The Grayling
Montana ; while as a food-fish It Is also bet-
ter, Its flesh being firmer, more flaky, and
of greater sweetness of flavor. Likewise
one can relish the grayling for many con-
secutive meals without the palate becoming
cloyed, as In the case of the more oily trout.
It never has a muddy or weedy taste.
In England there Is a prevalent opinion
that the grayling has a tender mouth and
must be handled very gingerly when
hooked; there Is no truth In this notion,
however, as Its mouth Is as tough as that of
the trout; but as smaller hooks are em-
ployed In grayling fishing they are more apt
to break out under a strain. For this rea-
son the angler should not attempt to
" strike " at a rising fish, but allow It to
hook Itself, which all game-fishes will do
nine times out of ten. The only object In
striking Is to set the hook more firmly.
Grayling fishing Is fair during summer. Grayling
but Is at its best In autumn; and where the ^^ ^"^
streams are open It Is quite good In winter.
Mr. Dugmore, who made the admirable
photograph Illustrating this article, did his
53
Favorite Fish and Fishing
fishing late In August, In the West Fork of
the Madison River, and In Beaver Creek
In the upper canon of the Madison, In Mon-
tana. The upper Madison Is an Ideal home
for grayling, the stream being clear and
swift with a bottom of black obsidian sand.
Fly-Fishing Fly-fishlng for grayling differs consider-
ably from trout fishing. The trout usually
lies concealed, except when on the riffles,
while the grayling lies at the bottom of
exposed pools. When the fly Is cast on the
surface the trout dashes at It from his lair
with a vim; or If below It, he often rises
clear of the water In his eagerness to seize
It. Should the fly be missed, another at-
tempt will not be made again for some little
time. If at all. The grayling rises to the
fly from the bottom of the pool to the sur-
face with Incredible swiftness, but makes no
commotion In doing so. Should It fall to
seize the fly It returns toward the bottom,
but soon essays another attempt, and will
continue Its efforts until finally the fly Is
taken Into Its mouth. From this It Is evi-
dent that the grayling Is not as shy as the
54
The Grayling
trout. It Is also apparent that the fly should
be kept on the surface for trout, but allowed
to sink a few inches at each cast for gray-
ling.
While the casts need not be as long as Casting and
for trout, unless in very shallow water,
they should be perfectly straight, and the
line be kept taut, so that the fish may hook
itself upon taking the fly into its mouth.
When hooked, it should be led away to one
side of the pool in order that the rest of the
school may not be alarmed. The fish
should be held with a light hand, so as not
to tear out the small hook, but at the same
time kept on the bend of the rod until ex-
hausted, before putting the landing-net
under it. The landing-net should always
be used, as the hold of the small hook may
be a slight one.
Unlike the trout, the grayling often
breaks water repeatedly when hooked,
making short but mad leaps for freedom
that require considerable skill to circum-
vent. During the struggle the tall banner-
like dorsal fin waves like a danger-signal,
55
Playing
Leaping of
Grayling
Fly-Fishing
Favorite Fish and Fishing
and with the forked tail-fin offers consider-
able resistance in the swift water. But
when safely in his creel, the fortunate
angler can congratulate himself on having
fairly subdued and captured this wily and
coquettish beauty of the crystal waters.
Outfit for^^ The outfit for Hy-fishing is about the
same as for trout, say a rod of five or six
ounces, light click reel, enameled silk line,
with a four-foot leader for two flies, or one
of six feet for three, though two flies are
enough. The flies should be tied on quite
small hooks, Nos. lo or 12. While ordi-
nary trout-flies answer pretty well, they are
much better if made with narrower wings,
or still better with split wings. Any of the
conventional hackles are capital, especially
If the hackle is tied so as to stand out at
right angles to the shank of the hook. The
most successful flies are those with bodies
of peacock harl or of some shade of yellow,
as coachman, grizzly king, Henshall, alder,
governor, and black gnat, with bodies of
harl; and professor, queen of the water.
Lord Baltimore and oak fly, with yellowish
56
The Grayling
bodies. Other useful flies are gray drake,
gray coflin, and the various duns. Four of
the most successful grayling flies In England
are the witch, Bradshaw's fancy, green In-
sect and red tag, samples of which were sent
to me by one of the best grayling fishers of
that country. They were tied on the small-
est hooks made, Nos. i6 to 20. All have
harl bodies, very plump, with tags of red
worsted, and hackles of various shades of
silver gray, except Walbran's red tag,
which has brown hackle. Mr. Howarth,
an old English fly-tier, of Florissant, Colo-
rado, is an adept at tying grayling flies.
For bait-fishing the fly-rod and click reel Outfit for Bait
, .„ 11- 1 • Fishing
mentioned will answer, as the bait used is
very light. The line should be of braided
silk, undressed, size H, with a leader of
three or four feet. Snelled hooks, size Nos.
7 to 9, are about right. The best bait is
the " rock worm," as It is called In Mon-
tana, which is the larva of a caddis fly
encased In an artificial envelope of minute
bits of stick, or grains of fine gravel. Other
baits are earthworms, grubs, crickets, grass-
57
Float and
Sinker
The Finest
Grayling
Fishing
Favorite Fish and Fishing
hoppers, natural flies, or small bits of fat
meat.
In comparatively still water a quill float,
or a very small one of cork, must be used
to keep the bait about a foot from the
bottom, with a light sinker to balance the
float. In swift water the float will not be
required, but the small sinker is needed to
keep the bait near the bottom. My advice,
however, would be to pay court to the
" lady of the streams " with the artificial
fly as the only fitting gage to cast before
her ladyship.
The angler who visits Yellowstone Na-
tional Park, after viewing the beauties and
marvels of that wonderland, and enjoying
the excellent trout fishing, may go by a
regular stage line to Riverside at its west-
ern boundary, and thence a few miles to
the upper Madison basin. Here, within
an area of a dozen miles, are several forks
of the Madison River, and Beaver Creek
in the upper caiion, where he may enjoy
the finest grayling fishing in the world.
Under the shadows of snow-clad peaks,
58
The Grayling
and amidst the most charming and varied
scenery, he may cast his feathery lures
upon virgin streams of crystalline pureness,
while breathing In the ozone of the moun-
tain breeze and the fragrance of pine
and fir.
There Is a tradition In England that the The Relation of
1- . , J 1 • , .1 . . Monasteries to
grayhng was mtroduced into that country the GrayHng
from the continent of Europe by the monks
and friars of olden time. This Is not
improbable, as the grayling was always a
favorite fish with the various monastic
orders throughout Europe, and there still
remain In England the ruins of ancient
monasteries on most of the grayling
streams. As the original habitats of all
the graylings are the coldest and clearest
waters, the streams of England, while clear
enough at times, are not of very low tem-
perature ; this would seem to give some cre-
dence or warrant for the legend mentioned.
One can readily Imagine the tonsured
fathers of old — friars white, black and
gray, and the hooded Capuchin and Bene-
dictine— during the lenten season and be-
59
Favorite Fish and Fishing
fore fast days, repairing to the limpid
stream with rod and line in pursuit of the
lovely grayling.
The Monks and But the angler, of all others, can realize
the Grayling , . , • r i i
that It was not alone to gratify the palate
that the holy brothers left the dim cloister
for the sunlit stream, the rosary and missal
for the rod and line, and forsook the con-
secrated pile for God's first temples — the
sylvan groves. And there, rod in hand,
seated on the verdure-clad bank, he sees the
silent and ghostly figures eagerly watching
the tell-tale float, fishing all day, perhaps,
from the matin song of the lark to the ves-
per hymn of the nightingale, while they
are quietly drinking In and enjoying the
many bountiful gifts of Nature — the merry
brook, the nodding flowers, the whispering
leaves, the grateful breeze.
The Cloister And how the hooking of a grayling must
and the Stream , • i i i i i i • i
have stirred the stagnant blood and quick-
ened the pulses of those austere souls ! And
how the languid muscles must have stiff-
ened, and the deadened nerves thrilled,
when the gamesome grayling leaped into
60
The Grayling
the sunlight sparkling like a gem and glit-
tering like a crystal !
Ah ! what a happy contrast to the gloomy
cell and breviary it must have been to those
rigid and frigid celibates to view the ever-
changing tints and the reflected glory of the
" lady of the streams " after she had co-
quettishly responded to their lures !
But let us return from the musty ages of The Warning
the past, and the hoary fathers — those wise
conservators of their beloved fish — to the
present day, with the sad vanishing of the
Michigan grayling as a solemn warning.
Let us, then, guard and preserve this beau-
tiful creature that has come down to us
through the centuries, hallowed by the jeal-
ous care of the good fathers of yore, so
that the toiler in these stirring times may,
if he will, forsake the busy marts, the ofiice
or workshop, for a period, be it ever so
brief, and journey even a thousand miles to
enjoy — as the monks of old — -the catching
of a grayling.
6i
THE TROUT: THE ANGLER'S
PRIDE
THE TROUT: THE ANGLER'S
PRIDE
THE brook trout, or char, with the Passing of the
beautiful and suggestive name of
Salvelinus fontinalis, by which It Is known
to the naturaHst, Is fast disappearing from
Its native streams. The altered conditions
of Its aboriginal environment, owing to
changes brought about by the progress of
civilization, have resulted In Its total extinc-
tion In some waters and a sad diminution
In others. In many Instances the trout
brooks of our childhood will know them
no more. The lumberman has gotten In
his work — the forests have disappeared —
the tiny brooks have vanished.
The lower waters still remain, but are
robbed of their pristine pureness by the
contamination due to various manufactur-
ing industries. In such streams the supply
65
Favorite Fish and Fishing
of trout Is only maintained through the
efforts of the federal and state fish com-
missions. It is to be hoped that by this
means the beautiful brook trout, the love-
liest and liveliest fish of all the finny world,
may be preserved and spared to us for yet
a little while. Its introduction to the pure
mountain streams of the Far West has
given it a new lease of life, and the time
may come when, outside of the game and
fish preserves of wealthy clubs, it will be
only in its new home that it can be found.
Back Log On long winter evenings the angler, sit-
ting before his cheerful fire, may be medi-
tating on the passing of the brook trout —
that his angling record for the last season
was not so good as the year before, and
that next summer it may be still worse. But
such disheartening thoughts are quickly dis-
pelled as his glance falls on the fly-book
and tackle box within his reach. His fly-
book is eagerly overhauled and frayed
snells and leaders and rusty hooks dis-
carded. Some well-worn flies that recall
the big trout that gave him sport galore in
66
The Trout
the long summer days are, on second
thought, snugly and affectionately tucked
away In a separate pocket of the book, to
be brought forth on occasion, to excite the
envy of some brother angler, while relating
with minute detail the story of the part
they took In the capture of the " big ones."
Through the rings of smoke rising from Pipe Dreams
his brier-root he sees the stream rippling
and sparkling as It courses around the bend.
And In fancy he Is wading and casting, and
as eagerly expectant of a rise, with his feet
encased In slippers, as when plodding along
In clumsy wading boots. The pipe-dreams
of retrospection are as engrossing and
enjoyable as those of anticipation to the
appreciative angler. The pleasures though
passed are not forgotten.
He even smiles as he remembers the slip- Pnde After a
pery and treacherous rock that caused his ^
downfall, and the Involuntary bath that
followed, just as he hooked the biggest fish
in the pool. He is even conscious of the
chill that coursed up his spine as the stream
laughed and gurgled in his submerged
67
Favorite Fish and Fishing
ear — but he remembers, best of all, that he
saved the fish, and that he laughs best who
laughs last. There is a saving clause of
compensation in every untoward event to
the philosophic mind.
Mother Nature's In " the good old Summer time " thou-
Sanitanum i r -i /- • •
sands or weary toilers rrom every station in
life are leaving the home, the school, the
workshop, the office, for a few weeks of
rest, recreation and recuperation. And no-
where else can the overstrung nerves and
tired muscles find surer relief and tone
than beside the shimmering lake or brawl-
ing stream. The voices of many waters
are calling them, the whispering leaves are
coaxing them, the feathered songsters are
entreating them — to leave the busy haunts
of men and repair to the cool shadows and
Invigorating breezes of sylvan groves and
shining waters.
Balm in Giiead Here, Indeed, may be found a solace for
every care, a panacea for every 111, fur-
nished without cost and without stint, from
Mother Nature's pharmacopoeia of simples:
fresh air, pure water and outdoor exercise.
68
The Trout
But while all of this is patent to the sea-
soned angler, the preachment of the re-
sources of Nature for the relief of the
" demnition grind " of those who dwell in
cities cannot be too often reiterated.
Trout fishing is lawful in several states Beginning of
during a part or throughout the entire
month of April; but unless the season is
exceptionally forward and pleasant the wise
angler will lose nothing by ignoring the
privilege.
May and June are, by all odds, the best
months for brook trout fishing. By May
Day most of the streams of the Eastern
States have cleared sufficiently for fly-fish-
ing, and their temperature has sensibly
diminished.
" About this time," as the almanacs say, Signs of Spring
the most interesting literature for the im-
patient angler is the catalogue of fishing
tackle. After a final overhauling and in-
spection of his tools and tackle he is Im-
pelled, irresistibly, to pay a visit to the
tackle store for such additions to his stock,
be it large or small, as he thinks he needs,
69
Embarrassment
of Riches
Tools and
Tackle
Favorite Fish and Fishing
and Is not happy until his wants, real or
fancied, are supplied.
A woman at a bargain counter is a sedate,
complacent and uninterested personage com-
pared with an angler in a tackle store at the
opening of the fishing season. He is covet-
ous to a degree, and would walk off with the
entire stock should he follow the dictates
of his Inclination as to his fancied require-
ments. As It is, he buys many things he will
never have any use for; but he thinks he
will, all the same, and leaves the attractive
place an impoverished but happier man.
Of course it Is best, when one can afford
It, to provide duplicate rods and reels and
a liberal supply of minor articles. But the
careful angler, with but one ewe lamb in the
shape of a tried and trusty rod, and a single,
rehable click reel, with a limited but well-
selected supply of leaders and flies, will take
as many fish as his prodigal brother with a
superabundant equipment.
The length and weight of the rod de-
pends on the character of the waters to
be fished : whether open water or a small
70
The Trout
brushy stream. Good rods can be obtained
running from nine to eleven feet and from
four to seven ounces. For narrow, shallow
streams overhung with trees and shrub-
bery, and where the fish are small, the light-
est and shortest rod is sufficient and most
convenient. For larger streams or open
water the rod should not exceed ten feet,
and six ounces. Where trout are exception-
ally large, as in the Lake Superior region
or in Maine, the maximum of eleven feet,
and seven ounces will be about right for
most anglers.
Fly-rods built for tournament work, espe- The Chief
cially for long-distance casting, are marvels rq^^^^^" ° '
in their way, but it does not follow that they
are adapted, or the best, for work on the
stream. The essential and most important
office of a rod is that which is exhibited
after a fish is hooked — in other words, in
the playing and landing of the fish. In
practical angling the act of casting, either
with fly or bait, is merely preliminary and
subordinate to the real uses of a rod. The
poorest fly-rod made will cast a fly thirty
71
Reel, Line and
Leader
Artificial Flies
Favorite Fish and Fishing
or forty feet, which is about as far as called
for in ordinary angling. But it is the con-
tinuous spring and yielding resistance of
the bent rod, constantly maintained, that
not only tires out the fish, but protects the
weak snell or leader from breakage, and
prevents a weak hold of the hook from giv-
ing way; and this is the proper function of
a rod.
The reel should be a single-action click
reel, the lighter the better, if well made.
The best, and in fact the only, line for fly-
fishing, is one of enameled silk, its caliber
corresponding with the weight of the rod.
Only the best quality of silkworm fiber
should be purchased in leaders for sizable
fish. A leader of six feet is long enough
for three flies, and one of four feet with
two flies is still better.
The subject of artificial flies is a most
complex one. All fly-fishers have their
favorites, with or without reason, and swear
by them on all occasions. Some confine
themselves to the various hackles, others
to half-a-dozen winged flies, while still
72
^r
The Trout
others are only satisfied with a fly-book
filled to bursting with scores of all sizes
and colors. In this connection It Is as well
to say that about the beginning of the cen-
tury there was a discussion In the London
Fishing Gazette as to what artificial fly, In
case an angler was restricted to a single one,
would be preferred for use during an entire
season. The consensus of opinion was In
favor of the " March brown," with the
" olive dun " as a good second. These are
both killing flies In America as well as In
England for trout fishing.
In addition to them the coachman, pro- selection of
fessor, Montreal, dotterel or yellow dun,
with the black, brown, red and gray hackles
should be suflEcIent on almost any stream.
If tied In several sizes, say on hooks Nos.
6 to 12, with a preference for the Interme-
diate numbers. From my experience I
would be satisfied with such an assortment.
Other anglers, of course, would think other-
wise, and would prefer quite a different
selection — but this Is In accordance with one
of the accepted and acknowledged privileges
73
Flies
Favorite Fish and Fishing
of the gentle art. And this, at the same
time, is as it should be. One who has had
more success with certain flies than with
others, all things being equal, should pin
his faith to them. And this, moreover, ex-
plains why there is such an extensive list to
choose from in the fly-tier's catalogue, which
contains the preferences of many genera-
tions of fly-fishers.
Philosophy of The question as to the best fly to use at
Artificial Flies ^ • , . -,
certain seasons, or at any season, is a vexed
one. Whether it is the colored dressing of
the fly, or its form, that is most enticing to
the fish, will perhaps never be known, ex-
cept approximately. Of the long list of
named artificial flies the choice of most
anglers has been narrowed to a score or
two, and for the only reason that they have
been more or less successful with them. We
are apt to look at the matter from our own
, viewpoint, and often without reference to
that of the fish.
Reasoning from the appearance of arti-
ficial flies in general, it would seem that on
a fretted surface almost any one of the
74
The Trout
many hundreds should get a rise from a
fish, If In a biting mood, and, indeed, this
Is In a measure true. But one swallow does
not make a summer. There are times and
places when any old thing, even a bit of
colored rag, will coax a rise. I have had
good success with a bit of the skin of a
chicken neck with a feather or two attached.
Then there are times when nothing but
natural bait proves alluring.
We may assume as almost a self-evident w^hy a Trout
proposition that a fish takes an artificial fly ^ ^^ ^ ^
under the delusion that It Is a natural one,
or something good to eat — otherwise it
would not take It at all. If this assumption
is correct, then It would follow that the best
Imitations of natural flies or Insects should
be the most successful. This Is, in the
main, a reasonable conclusion, though on
the other hand certain flies that are uni-
versally considered and used as good ones,
do not, to our eyes at least, bear any resem-
blance to any known Insect — for Instance
the coachman, professor and other so-called
fancy flies.
75
The Angler's
Viewpoint
The Trout's
Viewpoint
Favorite Fish and Fishing
An artificial fly on the ruffled surface of
the water presents a very different appear-
ance to the same fly when held in one's
hand, even to our own eyes; what, then, does
It look like to the fish? That's the ques-
tion. I have often attempted to solve It by
diving beneath and viewing the fly on the
surface. If the water was perfectly clear
and calm, without a ripple. It simply looked
like a dark fly, no matter what Its color,
though I could sometimes discern the lighter
color of the wings when formed of undyed
mallard or wood-duck feathers. When the
surface was ruffled It was so Indistinct that
a bit of leaf would have seemed the same.
A somewhat similar experiment may be per-
formed. In a minor degree, by placing a
mirror at the bottom of a barrel of water
and viewing the reflection of the fly on the
surface.
We can surmise that fish are not color-
blind, otherwise there would be no reason
for the beautiful colors that many male
fishes assume during the breeding season.
Fishes are possessed of keen vision, and
76
The Trout
possibly have the faculty of distinguishing
colors in a fly, even when on a fretted sur-
face, where to our eyes they are very indis-
tinct, and where even the form can not be
well defined.
In Great Britain it is the rule to use cer- Flies in their
tain flies at different seasons, that is, to
employ the imitations of such natural flies
as are on the water at the time. This
seems quite reasonable in view of the fact
that the trout streams there are shallow, and
especially so In the case of the chalk-streams
whose bright colored bottoms may enhance
the visual powers of the fish in discerning,
by the reflected light, the form and colors
of the artificial fly.
We may conclude, then, that as trout are imitations of
In the habit of feeding on such flies and in-
sects as resort to, or are hatched in, the
water, that the best imitations of such
natural flies, from the trout's viewpoint,
would be the most alluring. I think it goes
without saying, that all past experience has
proven that the imitations of some of the
commonest aquatic insects have been the
77
Favorite Fish and Fishing
most successful under all conditions. This
would include not only the imago, but the
larva, as represented by the various hackle
flies.
Dark or Light The old rule to usc light-colored flies on
dark days and high or discolored water, and
darker flies on bright days, or with low and
clear water, has been followed for centuries,
and in the main is true and reliable. As
some anglers have found that a reversed
application of it has been successful, at
times, they are inclined to doubt it alto-
gether. However, they do not look at it
intelligently. With clear water and a clear
atmosphere a light-colored fly will show as
plainly on the surface as a dark one to the
fish below. If we gaze upward during a
fall of snow, the flakes appear quite dark,
while on a level or below the eye they ap-
pear white. Apparently, then, there are
other conditions that must be taken into
account. With a sunken fly, for instance,
the case is difi^erent, for a dark fly then ap-
pears more distinct than a light one, in clear
water; but with milky or discolored water
78
The Trout
a bright fly is more easily discerned below
the surface — hence the rule. And on the
same principle smaller flies are suitable for
bright days and clear water, and larger ones
for dark days and discolored water.
In a very Interesting address delivered The Non-Rising
before the Anglers Club, of Glasgow, Scot-
land, on " Why do trout sometimes not
rise to the artificial fly? " the lecturer after
naming and discussing many of the reasons
usually advanced, said :
" And what is the conclusion of the whole
matter? Shortly, this — that there Is a
great deal about the question that we know
little or nothing about."
He advised his brother anglers to
" Watch narrowly the facts as observed In
nature, note them down carefully at the
time, compare them with those of brother
anglers on occasions such as this, and out of
all evolve theories which, when reduced to
practice, will be found to have carried us
nearer to the truth."
This Is very good advice freely given — Condition
and by the way advice Is more easily given ^^^^^ ^°^
79
Favorite Fish and Fishing
than reliable information in a case like this.
Nevertheless fly-fishers should consider
that a " condition, not a theory," confronts
them in the rising or non-rising of a trout
to an artificial fly, and should endeavor to
ascertain, if such be possible, just what con-
ditions are present to account for the pecu-
liar actions, at different times, of those elu-
sive creatures of the adipose fin, that
according to popular opinion seem to have
as many moods as specks or spots.
A Probable There is one feature of this subject, how-
ever, that I have never known to be alluded
to, which is this: That the rising or non-
rising of trout may depend on the scarcity
or abundance of the fish. In regions where
trout are unusually abundant I have never,
in my experience, known them to fail to
rise to the artificial fly, at any time of day,
or under almost any condition of wind or
weather. It is only in sections that are
much fished, and fish consequently scarce,
or " educated," as some term it for want of
a better reason, that trout fail to respond
to the solicitations of the fly-fisher.
80
Reason
H
The Trout
In the wilds of Canada I have had trout Abundance of
rise to my fly by the dozen, day after day,
so that all semblance of sport disappeared,
and only enough were taken for the frying-
pan. In Yellowstone Lake the merest tyro
can take the red-throat trout until his arms
ache, at any time of day, beneath clouds
or sunshine. And In the river below the
lake one can stand on the bank in plain
sight of the trout, which, with one eye on
the angler and the other on the fly, rushes
to his doom by snapping up the tinseled
lure, contrary to all conventional lore. This
Is an extreme case, of course, for the trout
are extremely abundant, or were so as late
as the summer of 1904.
One can imagine that in the clear and Scarcity of
shallow streams of England, which have
been thrashed by the flies of anglers, good,
bad and indifferent, for centuries, and
where trout are consequently and neces-
sarily scarce, or " educated," that they fail
to rise — in other words they are not always
there. This, I think. Is the reason that dry
fly-fishing Is becoming the vogue In that
81
Trout
Favorite Fish and Fishing
country, where the angler waits patiently by
the stream until a trout rising to a natural
fly proclaims its presence. The rest is easy.
Practical Hints For obvious rcasons it is always best to
fish down stream where there is a current;
in comparatively still water one may fish
up-stream or down. I would advise the
angler, by all means, to wade, as he has
more command of the water on either hand,
with plenty of room for the back cast, and
can float his flies under overhanging bushes
and banks, or in the eddies of rocks. As
the water is cold at this season he should
be warmly clad, putting on two pairs of
woolen socks or stockings, with rubber hip
boots or wading pants. He should move
slowly and cautiously, fishing every avail-
able spot before advancing a step. By
hurrying along as some anglers do, he soon
gets heated, even in cool weather, with the
result that his nether extremities are soon
bathed in a more or less profuse perspira-
tion, and he is altogether a " dem'd, damp,
moist, unpleasant body." To make haste
slowly is the wise and proper thing in wad-
82
The Trout
ing a stream. It Is the slow, deliberate
angler who gets the trout.
Some streams are likely to be occasion- a Timely Tip
ally swollen or roiled by spring rains or by
the June rise. At such times, when not too
much discolored for fly-fishing, the angler
will do well to avoid the channel of the
stream and cast his flies along the edges,
where the w^ater is clearer. This tip may
add many a fish to an otherwise scanty
creel.
When the stream is at its ordinary stage, Likely Places
and clear, the riflles and eddies are the
most likely places at this season, and will
be pretty sure to reward the careful angler.
In fishing such places the flies should be
floated over them, allowing them to sink
below the surface occasionally. In addition
to the flies mentioned for May, the stone
fly, gray drake and brown drake will be
found useful, especially in localities where
the May-fly or sand-fly puts in an appear-
ance. During the hottest days of summer,
when the water Is warmer, trout are more
apt to be found at the mouths of small
83
Management
of Flies
Lowering the
Tip
Favorite Fish and Fishing
spring brooks, or in the deepest portions of
the stream.
Churning the flies up and down, or wig-
ghng and dancing them, should be avoided;
the only motion, if any, should be a very
slight fluttering, such as a drowning insect
might make as it floats down stream.
Strike lightly. Should the trout leap after
being hooked, as it sometimes does in the
shallow water of riflles, lower the tip
slightly for half a second, but recover it
immediately — in other words it is simply
a down and up movement about as quickly
as it can be done.
And talking of lowering the tip — it may
not seem out of place to make a few obser-
vations concerning that proceeding which
some anglers do not seem to understand,
or at least do not fully appreciate. The rule
of lowering the tip to a leaping fish is a
very old one, centuries old in fact, and is
founded on the experience of anglers for
many generations past. Its usefulness and
reasonableness is as manifest in the twenti-
eth century as at any former time.
84
The Trout
But because some thoughtless anglers at
the present day have succeeded In landing
a leaping and well-hooked fish without ob-
serving the rule, they decry It as entirely
unnecessary, and declare that it ought to be
relegated to the limbo of obsolete and
fanciful notions and useless practices. The
iconoclast usually attacks his Images with-
out thought or reason, and often In sheer
Ignorance. A little reflection might en-
lighten him and cause him to stay his hand.
The rule originated In Great Britain and Origin of the
pertained particularly to fly-fishing. The
very small hooks on which trout flies were
tied offered but a slight hold on the mouth
of the fish, and In case that a leaping fish
threw Its weight on a taut line and raised
rod It was almost sure to break away —
hence the rule to lower the tip and release
the tension for a brief moment. As the
fish regained the water the tip was raised
and the former tension resumed. It must
be understood, however, that " lowering the
tip '' does not mean to touch the water with
the tip, but as the rod Is usually held at an
85
They Who
Differ
Long and Short
Line
Dry Fly-Fishing
Favorite Fish and Fishing
angle of forty-five degrees, a downward
deflection of the tip for a foot will usually
suffice.
So far as my observation goes the objec-
tions to the rule have been raised by blrck
bass bait-fishers who use heavy rods, strong
tackle and large hooks. Under these cir-
cumstances a fish is usually so securely
hooked by a vigorous yank that the lower-
ing of the tip, when it leaps from the water,
Is not so essential, inasmuch as the angler
has a cinch on his quarry whether the line
be slack or taut.
But even in bait-fishing, with a light rod
and corresponding tackle and a small hook,
It Is a wise plan to follow a leaping fish
back to the water by slightly lowering the
tip, especially on a short line — with a long
line it does not matter so much, as the
"give" of a. pliant rod and long line Is
usually sufficient to relieve the increased
tension when a fish Is In the air.
Dry fly-fishing is the latest angling cult
In England, but I do not think that It will
find many adherents In this country. For
86
The Trout
one reason, the dry fly must be cast up-
stream, which will never be a favorite
method with American anglers for well-
known reasons. Then again, our trout
streams are usually swift and broken, and
under these conditions the dry fly is soon
drowned and becomes a wet fly, thus sub-
verting the cardinal principle of dry fly-
fishing. In England this method is prac-
ticed on comparatively smooth, shallow
streams with but little current. The flies
are constructed with rather large, upright
wings and spreading hackle, and often with
cork bodies, to enhance their capacity for
floating and buoyancy.
While fly-fishing, wet or dry, is unques- Comparisons
tionably the highest branch of angling, and
far preferable to bait-fishing for trout, It
does not follow that fishing with the dry
fly, or floating fly, is a superior art to
fishing with the wet or sunken fly, as
claimed by some of the dry fly-fishers of
England. Indeed, some of the ultra dry
fly enthusiasts have arrogated to themselves
the distinction of practicing the most artistic
87
Favorite Fish and Fishing
and sportsmanlike method of angling, and
look askance, If not with disdain and con-
tempt, at the wet fly-fishers, whom they des-
ignate as the " chuck and chance It " sort.
I can not think that the position they
have assumed can be justly maintained, or
that It Is warranted by the facts of the case.
As dry fly-fishing is being taken up by a
few American anglers, it may be well
enough to give the alleged superiority of
the method some consideration.
Modus Some years ago the modus operandi of
Operandi ^^^ fly-fishIng was explained to me, person-
ally, by Mr. William Senior, editor of the
London Field. The angler waits beside the
swim until a trout betrays Its whereabouts
by rising to a newly hatched gnat or fly,
creating a dimple on the surface. The
angler then, kneeling on one knee, some-
times having a knee-pad strapped on, cau-
tiously casts his floating May-fly, with
cocked wings, and anointed with parafl^n
or vaseline. The fly Is deftly and lightly
cast up-stream, a little above the swirl of
the trout, and is permitted to float down, as
The Trout
naturally as possible, over the fish. There
being no response after a cast or two, the
angler switches the fly In the air to dry It,
and awaits the tell-tale evidence of a fish
before again offering/ the buoyant lure.
Now, I cannot Imagine why this method Is
claimed to be on a higher plane of angling
than the " chuck and chance It " method.
Certainly a knowledge of the habits of the
trout Is not essential, Inasmuch as the an-
gler makes his cast only on the appearance
of the fish.
On the other hand the wet fly-fisher, wad- The Wet Fiy-
, , . ' . Fisher
mg down stream or up stream, brmgs to his
aid his knowledge of the habits and haunts
of the trout, and casts his flies over every
likely spot where his experience leads him to
think a fish may He. It Is this eager ex-
pectancy, or fond anticipation, with every
cast, that makes up much of the real pleas-
ure of angling, and which Is utterly lost to
the dry fly-fisher, who waits and watches on
the bank, like a kingfisher on his perch.
While there can be no objection to dry
fly-fishing, per se, and which, moreover, I
89
Favorite Fish and Fishing
welcome as a pleasing and meritorious in-
novation, I feel compelled to enter a pro-
test against claiming for It a higher niche
in the ethics of sport than wet fly-fishing.
And with all due respect for the dry fly men
of Great Britain, I can not admit that they
trot in a higher class than those " chuck
and chance it " fishers of honored and
revered memory: Sir Humphry Davy,
" Christopher North " and Francis Francis.
Bait Fishing It Is the practice of some anglers to con-
fine themselves entirely to natural bait in
trout fishing, the favorite bait being the
earthworm or "barnyard hackle"; also
grasshoppers, grubs, crickets, or bits of
animal flesh. While not so artistic, or for
that matter not so successful as fly-fishing
when the streams are clear, there are times
when bait-fishing can be practiced without
prejudice, and to better advantage than fly-
fishing : as when streams are rendered turbid
or roily by rains.
A capital bait is the beautifully tinted
anal fin of a trout, which In water with
some current waves, wabbles and flutters in
90
The Trout
a most seductive manner on tfie hook. Its
effect is heightened, and its resemblance to
a Hving Insect Is more pronounced, If the eye
of a trout is first impaled on the hook
through its enveloping membrane, care
being taken not to puncture the eyeball.
I was once fishing with fin-bait in Wis- A Fish Story
consin, early in the season when the stream
was milky, when one trout was badly
hooked, the point of the hook forcing out
the eyeball, which hung on Its cheek. I
carefully unhooked the fish and plucked off
the eye, when the unfortunate trout flopped
out of my hand Into the stream before I
could kill It. I added the eyeball to my fin-
bait, and strange to say I soon caught the
same trout with Its- own eye! While this
story may be more difficult for the unini-
tiated to swallow than for the trout to bolt
Its own eye, It Is nevertheless true, and may
be taken as proof that fish are not very
sensitive to pain.
The equipment recommended for fly- Tools and
fishing will answer just as well for bait-
fishing, as the baits commonly used are
91
Favorite Fish and Fishing
light. In some instances, however, a
slightly heavier or stiffer rod may be em-
ployed, especially if the small casting-spoon
or a small minnow is used for large trout.
Hooks from Nos. 5 to 7 are about right.
The Sea Trout Whether the sea-trout, or salmon-trout,
of the Gulf of St. Lawrence is a different
species from the speckled brook trout of
the upper parts of rivers emptying into said
Gulf has been a mooted question for many
years, arguments pro and con having been
advanced by a number of intelligent and
observant anglers. In 1834 -Hamilton
Smith described it as a new species under
the name of Salmo canadensis, and in 1850
H. R. Storer named it Salmo immaculatus.
Later and better authorities, however, have
decided that it is only a sea-run form of the
speckled brook trout, Salvelinns fontnialis.
I unhesitatingly indorse this opinion. Many
years ago Dr. W. W. Dawson and myself
investigated the matter thoroughly while
salmon fishing on the Restigouche River.
About the Metapediac, and below the rail-
road bridge, we caught the brook trout with
92
The Trout
its crimson and yellow spots, and near
Campbellton, at the mouth of the river,
we took the fresh-run form of bright sil-
very coloration, with scarcely any mark-
ings on the back and without spots. We
also caught them a little higher up the river
in transition stages, when the characteristic
spots were beginning to appear, more or
less pronounced. We compared hundreds,
from plain silvery form to those with bright
crimson and golden spots, but could find no
structural differences.
Marine fishes are very constant In color- changes in
ation, the non-colored portions being quite °°^^"o"
silvery, while fishes of fresh waters are sub-
ject to frequent changes In hue, being much
Influenced In this respect by the character
of their haunts. So when the brook trout
" goes to sea " it loses Its spots and takes
on the silvery livery of marine fishes, but
resumes Its original coloration soon after
entering fresh water.
Just why the winnlnlsh of the upper St. TheWinninish
Lawrence, which Is but a dwarfed form of
the Atlantic salmon, does not also proceed
93
Favorite Fish and Fishing
to sea after the spawning season, like its
prototype, is another puzzh'ng proposition.
It has been argued by some that the win-
ninish is the original, or typical species, and
that the anadromous salmon is descended
from individuals that took on the seafaring
habit. But such speculative theories can
never be proven.
A Virgin Trout Twenty years ago. Dr. W. W. Dawson,
of Cincinnati — then president of the Amer-
ican Medical Association — and myself were
guests of Surgeon-General Baxter, U.S.A.,
at his fishing lodge near Metapedia, on
the Restigouche River, New Brunswick.
Twenty years ago ! How time flies ! Since
then my dear friends. Doctors Dawson and
Baxter, have both crossed the silent river,
though it seems but a few weeks since we
were casting our lines in the pleasant places
on the famous Restigouche. Indeed, that
pleasant summer seems as but yesterday,
when Mrs. Baxter killed with her own rod
six salmon, running from twenty to thirty
pounds, and was not more than thirty min-
utes in bringing any of them to gaff.
94
The Trout
One day at Campbellton, at the mouth
of the river, I met Mr. Dean Sage, of
Albany, N. Y., who kindly gave me per-
mission to fish his excellent waters, farther
up the Restigouche. I also met there Mr.
Light, Chief Engineer of the Dominion of
Canada, who gave me such a glowing ac-
count of the trout streams that had just been
rendered accessible by the Quebec and Lake
St. John railway, that Dr. Dawson and my-
self gave up our contemplated trip to the
Nipigon, and decided to go up the Batiscan
River in accordance with the advice of Mr.
Light.
He recommended taking with us from The Batiscan
the Restigouche two Gaspe canoes and *^^^
canoemen who were accustomed to swift
and rocky water; for the Batiscan, he in-
formed us, contained numerous rapids that
would tax the strength and prowess of the
most experienced canoemen. We engaged
two Restigouche men to accompany us, and
decided to take but one Gaspe wooden
canoe, thirty feet long, and to procure a
smaller and lighter one at Quebec.
95
Favorite Fish and Fishing
In Old Quebec Arriving at that quaint and historic
town, we obtained, with the help of the
American consul, Mr. Downes, a new bass-
wood canoe, built on the model of a birch
bark, about fifteen feet in length; this we
procured from an Indian tribe near the city.
Through our letter of introduction from
Mr. Light to Mr. Beemer, the contractor
of the Q. & L. St. John railway, w^e had no
difficulty in getting transportation for our
canoes and camp equipage to the Batiscan
River, w^hich w^as then the terminus of the
railway. Indeed, Mr. Beemer kindly went
with us to that point, to see that w^e were
started right on our exploration of the
Upper Batiscan. Our objective point w^as
Batiscan Lake, some ten miles as the crow
flies, but the distance by river unknown, for
Its upper waters had never been fished by
white men. A railroad survey party had
gone a short distance up the stream by land,
but beyond that It was a terra incognita to
the angler. I questioned an old French
trapper, w^ho told me that he had been to
the lake with sled and snowshoes In winter,
96
The Trout
and had fished through the ice; also that the
trout ran up to ten pounds in weight. It
was to be a veritable voyage of discovery,
and Mr. Light was quite desirous to know
something of the resources and particulars
of the region, having leased the fishing priv-
ileges from the Dominion.
Arriving at the river, I found Mr. Lacs du Rognon
Farnsworth — who has written so entertain-
ingly of the French inhabitants — established
in a pleasant camp a mile below the railroad
crossing. I also met Captain Seaton, presi-
dent of a Quebec fishing club, the lessee of
the Lacs du Rognon, near the railroad
crossing of the Batiscan. Captain Seaton
showed me a basket of brook trout averag-
ing five pounds, but to my surprise he stated
that they were taken with the trolling
spoon, as the trout of those lakes — more's
the pity — utterly refused to take the fly,
giving as a reason that those waters
abounded in myriads of chub, on which the
trout habitually fed.
We embarked in the canoes and pro- Up the River
ceeded up the river, which we found to be
97
Favorite Fish and Fishing
a wild, rocky stream, with long rapids, up
which it was impossible to propel the canoes.
This entailed the labor and delay of long
portages, making our progress extremely
slow. Between the rapids were long
stretches of smooth, but very rapid water.
The mountains rose up on each side from
the edge of the stream, so that the portages
were on a side hill of Laurentian rocks over-
grown with moss a foot or two in depth.
Owing to these difficulties we were six days
in traveling five miles, and failed to reach
Batiscan Lake, though I saw its waters
from the top of a mountain.
Trout Galore That we found trout galore is no name
for it. They were as numerous as the
black flies by day or the mosquitoes by
night. And the chub were both plentiful
and gamy — great dark, round, stout fel-
lows, weighing sometimes two pounds, and
gamier than the trout. We at last reached
a fall, or rather twin falls, aggregating
some thirty feet in height, and the most
beautiful sight I have ever seen on any
Stream. The summit of the fall flowed in
98
The Trout
a straight, unbroken line across the river,
over a solid ledge of rocks, with a curve as
true, uniform, and unbroken as a mill dam.
The waters fell into a circular basin of con-
siderable extent, and then, divided by a
small island in the middle of the lower fall,
plunged down again to the lower level. On
this little isle were twin fir trees of remark-
able beauty and symmetry, standing like
silent sentinels in the silent Canadian forest
— for no sound was ever heard except the
rushing of the tumultuous waters beneath.
The absence of birds was remarkable, only Batiscan Fails
an occasional song sparrow being heard.
Our last camp was at the summit of the
fall, a few feet from its edge. Above the
fall were nothing but brook trout; not a
chub to be seen ; great lusty trout from one-
half to three pounds — none less, none more.
And they were too plentiful for real sport.
A dozen would rise to the single fly at once,
knocking it about sometimes like a tennis
ball. We fished only a few minutes in the
early morning and toward sundown, as we
took only enough to supply the camp.
99
Favorite Fish and Fishing
Fishing on the Most of my fishing here was from the
very verge or curve of the fall, where the
trout were playing. Strange to say, none
went over, as I ascertained by careful
watching below. Indeed, there seemed to
be none In the circular basin below. I could,
at least, see none, neither could I get a rise,
though I tried repeatedly. When hooked,
on the verge of the fall, the fish always
started up stream. As there were two feet
of water going over the fall with a velocity
of five or six miles an hour, or more, the
strength and activity of the trout can be
Imagined. These trout were the most
beautiful and highly colored I have ever
seen; their bellies a bright orange-red, and
their sides sprinkled with gold and Intensely
crimson spots, and their fins edged with
jet black and pure white. The coloration
was unusually vivid and pronounced.
Lake Edward From this camp we could hear all day
the workmen on the railroad blasting near
Lake Edward, which was but a few miles
away, and which has since become so noted
as a fishing resort.
lOO
3
O
c
o
OQ
The Trout
This was, in truth, a virgin trout stream.
No artificial fly had ever before fretted the
surface of Its pristine waters. The only
sign of man was the mark on a tree, near
our camp, where a chip had been cut out
by a trapper, years before. Just above our
camp was a narrow trail leading from the
cliffs to the river, but the only tracks were
those of caribou, bears, 'coons, and porcu-
pines.
There are other species of trout in There Are
American waters that are fished for In much ^^^^^^
the same way as for brook trout; they are ^
the rainbow, steelhead, red-throat, golden,
Dolly Varden and Sunapee trout; also the
introduced European brown trout. These
various species are being Introduced In
trout waters in a number of states, so that
It may be well to briefly refer to some of
their characteristics.
In the Rocky Mountain region there are Rocky Mountain
three groups of trout belonging to the Sp®"^^
Salmo genus — the steelhead, rainbow and
red-throat, or cut-throat as it Is sometimes
called. They are all black spotted. In
lOI
Favorite Fish and Fishing
widely separated sections of country these
different species may be readily distin-
guished by certain characteristics, but In
other localities, where they co-exist nat-
urally, It Is sometimes a difficult matter to
distinguish one group from another. At
one time, Indeed, the rainbow and steelhead
were pronounced by competent authority
to be the same fish, the steelhead being sup-
posed to be the sea-run form of the species.
At the present time, however, they are held
to be distinct species.
The Dolly Varden, or bull-trout, belongs
to a different genus (Salvelinus) ^ and Is
related to the brook trout of Eastern
waters, having also red spots. While the
red-throat trout Inhabits both slopes of the
Rockies, the others named belonged orig-
inally to the Pacific Slope.
The Red The red-throat trout Is the most widely
Jsaimodlrlai) distributed of the Western trouts. It Inhab-
its both slopes of the Rocky Mountains,
and, as might be Inferred from this exten-
sive range, It varies In external appearance
more than any of the trout species. There
102
The Trout
are a dozen or more well-defined sub-species
or geographical varieties, but all have the
characteristic red splashes on the membrane
of the throat. By means of this " trade-
mark " it may be readily distinguished from
the rainbow or steelhead trouts, both of
which are also black-spotted.
But while the red-throat trout varies con- Nomenclature
siderably in contour, coloration and mark-
ings, in different localities, it is identical
in structure wherever found. It is known by
the United States Bureau of Fisheries as the
" black-spotted trout," a most unfortunate
designation, inasmuch as the rainbow and
steelhead trouts are also " black-spotted."
The name red-throat is distinctive, and is
preferable to the rather repulsive name of
" cut-throat " trout by which it is also
known. The red-throat trout is designated
in its native waters by such names as
" trout," " brook trout," " speckled moun-
tain trout," etc. As the Eastern red-spotted
" brook trout " is rapidly being introduced
to Western waters, the name "brook trout"
should be applied only to that species.
103
Favorite Fish and Fishing
Growth and Where the red-throat trout grows to a
^^^ larger size than usual, as in the Yellow-
stone and other lakes, it is often called
" salmon-trout," and the bull-trout of the
Pacific Slope is also sometimes known by
the same name, but the only " salmon-
trout " is the steelhead trout. The red-
throat trout rises to the fly more freely than
the Eastern brook trout, though in game-
ness and flavor it is hardly its equal. Its
habits are also somewhat different. It usu-
ally lies in pools and holes, and does not
frequent the riffles so much as the Eastern
trout. In size it is somewhat larger than
the Eastern trout in streams of the same
relative width and depth, and like all trout
species grows to greater weight in lakes
and large streams. I have taken them on
the fly weighing from three to five pounds
in Soda Butte Lake in the Yellowstone
Park, and in Yankee Jim Canon on the
Yellowstone River. In Yellowstone Lake
some are infested with the white pelican
parasite, rendering them emaciated and
lacking in game qualities; this condition,
104
The Trout
however, seems to be disappearing some-
what, while those in the river below are
w^ell-nourished and gamy.
The same tackle and artificial flies used Tools and
Tackle
for the Eastern brook trout are as suitable,
as a rule, for the red-throat, though prefer-
ence is given to the stone fly, coachman, pro-
fessor, black gnat, cinnamon, Henshall, and
the various hackles by Montana anglers.
The red-throat seldom breaks water when
hooked, but puts up a vigorous fight be-
neath the surface. As the mountain streams
are usually swift and rocky and fringed -
with alders, willows and other small trees,
the angler must be wide awake to land his
fish and save his tackle.
The steelhead, or salmon-trout, is the The steeihead
trimmest and most graceful and the gahdnen)^^
gamest of all the trout species, being more
" salmon-like " in shape and appearance.
On the Pacific Coast, where It Is native, and
runs to salt water. It grows to twenty pounds
or more in weight, when It Is known as
steelhead salmon, and many are canned
under this name. Its spots are smaller than
105
Favorite Fish and Fishing
in the other black-spotted species. It has,
sometimes, especially the males, a pink flush
along the sides, but not so pronounced as
in the rainbow trout. Its color is also of a
lighter hue, with steely reflections. Its
scales are somewhat larger than those of the
red-throat, but not so large as in the rain-
bow trout.
As a Game-Fish It seems to be pretty well established in
Lake Superior, where it was introduced by
the United States Bureau of Fisheries, some
fine catches having been made of late years.
It has also been introduced Into several
states on the eastern slope of the Rockies,
which seem to be very suitable for this fine
fish. In Montana I have taken it up to five
pounds. It rises eagerly to the fly, and
when hooked breaks water repeatedly like
the black bass. It is very trying to light
tackle, and must be carefully handled by
the angler. The flies named for the red-
throat trout are just as killing for the steel-
head. Like the red-throat it is also sus-
ceptible to bait, which in Montana is the
" rock-worm," the larva of the caddis fly.
io6
The Trout
As a food fish it excels all of the trout Remarkable
species as might be surmised. In fresh
water lakes it should grow to eight or ten
pounds. Near Virginia City, Montana, is
located Axolotl Lake, so named from being
Inhabited by a species of axolotl, but It con-
tained no fish of any kind until stocked with
a few thousand steelhead trout fingerllngs
from the Bozeman Fisheries Station, In
1902. In September, 1907, two of my
friends, while trolling from a canvas boat
on this lake, caught eleven trout weighing
in the aggregate seventy pounds, the largest
weighing thirteen pounds, an extraordinary
weight for a five-year-old trout. But this
Is easily explained when it Is considered
that the trout had been feasting for sev-
eral years on such nutritious diet as these
curious amphibians afforded, and in great
abundance, but which now are said to be
scarce.
The rainbow trout has also been Intro- The Rainbow
duced to Eastern waters by the United l-j^usf"^"^'
States Bureau of Fisheries, and seems to be
well adapted to ponds of considerable ex-
107
Favorite Fish and Fishing
tent, where water plants and grasses flour-
ish. Such waters seem to be more con-
genial than the colder mountain streams;
and moreover it has a way of disappearing
from the smaller streams to seek those of
greater depth. It will thrive in warmer
water than the other trouts. The rainbow is
similar in contour to the red-throat, though
somewhat deeper, and with shorter head,
smaller mouth, and larger scales. Its dis-
tinguishing feature is the broad red band
along the lateral line, common to both male
and female. It is a handsome fish, with
considerably more gameness than the red-
throat, but is not so vigorous on the rod as
the steelhead of the same size. Owing to
its tendency to descend streams it is par-
ticularly liable to enter irrigation ditches, in
which event its doom is sealed. As a food-
fish it is superior to the native red-throat
trout.
In New Waters In no new waters has the rainbow done so
well as in those of Michigan and Colorado.
In the former state it has populated streams
that were once the home of the grayling,
io8
The Trout
Varden Trout
{Salvelinus
more's the pity. In Colorado, In the Gun-
nison and neighboring streams, It furnishes
sport galore to hundreds of delighted an-
glers, who visit the locality especially for
the fine fishing. No trout surpasses the
rainbow In rising to the artificial fly, and
almost any trout fly will capture It, though
the silver doctor, coachman, and the differ-
ent hackles, seem to be more favored than
others.
The Dolly Varden, or bull-trout, some- The Dolly
times erroneously called " salmon-trout," Is
the only red-spotted trout native to Western t>arkei)
waters. It belongs to the same genus as the
Eastern brook trout, but grows much
larger. It Is found only on the Pacific
Slope, In both lakes and streams, growing
to twelve or fifteen pounds under favorable
conditions. In the streams It Is a gamer
fish than in lakes, though the larger fish are
rather lazy and logy. Compared with Its
Eastern relative It Is hardly so vigorous on
the rod, w^hen of similar weight, and not
quite so good for the table.
It takes the fly readily, also any kind of
109
Favorite Fish and Fishing
natural bait, and in lakes or broad streams
succumbs to the trolling-spoon. It is not
so great a favorite as the other Western
trouts, except in Alaska, where it is abun-
dant in all lakes and streams.
The Brown Xhe brown trout is the brook trout of
Trout [Salmo ^ . . , . i t t • i
fario) h.urope, and was mtroduced to the United
States from England and Germany, under
the auspices of the United States Bureau of
Fisheries. Those from Germany (the
eggs), were donated by Von Behr, and his
name was unfortunately applied to the fish
as " Von Behr trout," also " German
trout," two most unfortunate and ridiculous
names. It is the " brook trout " of Europe
and " brown trout " of Great Britain. In
Germany it is ^^ bach forelle/^ which means
brook trout. Among English-speaking
people it has been known since before the
day of Walton and Cotton as " brown
trout," and brown trout it should be world
without end. To rob this fine fish of its
good name and substitute the misnomers
mentioned was both unwise and absurd.
I sincerely hope that those names, to-
IIO
The Trout
gether with the equally absurd name of Absurd Names
" black-spotted trout," as applied to the red-
throat trout, will soon be relegated to the
shades of oblivion, never to be mentioned
In polite angling society. If the fish men-
tioned was the only black-spotted trout In-
habiting Its native waters, It would be a
good and suitable name, but unfortunately
Its congeners, the rainbow and steelhead
trouts, are also " black-spotted " as before
mentioned. The name originated, I think,
about the same time as " Von Behr."
When the first eggs were taken East and
hatched the fry were called Rocky Moun-
tain trout and California trout, the former
name being more applicable than the latter,
but neither were very suitable. Our techni-
cal knowledge of the Western trouts must
have been sadly deficient, however, when
they were displaced for " black-spotted
trout."
The brown trout has both reddish-brown As a Game- and
and black spots, of a larger size than those
of its American cousins. Altogether it is
a fine fish, much prized In Great Britain,
III
Favorite Fish and Fishing
but in American waters it is hardly so
gamy, and not quite so good a food-fish
as our native trouts. It grows to a larger
size than our brook trout, and will thrive
in warmer water. A variety of the brown
trout, the Loch Leven, was introduced into
Firehole River, in the Yellowstone National
Park, some years ago, and it is remarkable
how well they thrive in the warm geyser
water. They must have been planted in
some stream in the Park tributary to the
Yellowstone River also, for I know of two
being taken near Livingston, Montana, one
weighing more than ten pounds, the other
about twelve. In a pond near Bozeman,
Montana, some brown trout fry were
planted, and at the end of four years two
were taken weighing six pounds each, both
of which were weighed by myself.
Fiy-Fishing The brown trout rises well to the fly, as
well if not better in American waters
than in England, and does not seem to be
so fastidious as to the color or shape of the
fly offered. Any of the popular trout flies
will answer, and it seems to have an in-
112
The Trout
the Sierras
herlted fancy for the Imitations of the May-
fly, the green and gray drakes, when the
natural May fly is on the water. This fly
Is also known as the sand-fly.
High up In the Southern Sierras, about 9oiden Trout of
10,000 feet. In the neighborhood of Mount
Whitney, California, are several species or
sub-species, of " golden trout," apparently
related to the rainbow trout. For beautiful
and varied coloration they excel all fishes
of fresh waters and rival those of the coral
reefs of the tropics.
For many years the golden trout of
Mount Whitney has been described at vari-
ous times by enthusiastic anglers In the
sportsmen's journals, but not until lately
have these fishes been properly systema-
tized. In the summer of 1904 a party
headed by Dr. Barton W. Evermann, under
the auspices of the United States Bureau of
Fisheries, proceeded to the locality men-
tioned, and thoroughly explored the differ-
ent streams, and collected hundreds of
specimens of the trout Inhabiting them. As
a result of this expedition the following
113
Favorite Fish and Fishing
Varieties of specics of goldcn trout havc been estab-
Goiden Trout y^^^^^ ^^ jj^ Evermann :
Golden Trout of Soda Creek {Salmo
whitei) ,
Golden Trout of South Fork of Kern
River {Salmo agua-honita) ^
Golden Trout of Volcano Creek {Salmo
rooseveldt'i) .
These trout are all small, averaging six
to eight inches, but are quite gamy and
very free biters. The golden trout of Vol-
cano Creek is the handsomest and gamest.
Of this fish Dr. Evermann says:
"This Is the most beautiful of all the
trouts; the brilliancy and richness of the
coloration is not equaled in any other
known species. . . In form it Is no less
beautiful; its lines are perfect, the fins large
and well proportioned, and the caudal
peduncle strong; all fitting It admirably
for life In the turbulent waters in which it
dwells. It is a small fish, however. The
largest example collected by us was eleven
and one-fourth inches In total length, and
the heaviest one weighed ten ounces.
114
The Trout
" As a game-fish the golden trout Is one
of the best. It will rise to any kind of lure,
Including the artificial fly, and at any time
of day. A No. lo fly is large enough, per-
haps too large; No. 12 or even smaller Is
much better. In the morning and again in
the evening It would take the fly with a
rush and make a good fight, jumping fre-
quently when permitted to do so; during
the middle of the day it rose more de-
liberately and could sometimes only be
tempted with grasshoppers. It is a fish
that does not give up soon but continues
the fight. Its unusual breadth of fins and
strength of caudal peduncle, together with
the turbulent water In which it dwells, en-
able It to make a fight equaling that offered
by many larger trout."
In the autumn of 1906 several hundred Propagation of
1 I (. TT 1 r^ \ Golden Trout
golden trout from Volcano Creek were
brought by a fish-car to the Bozeman Fish-
eries Station. In the following spring sev-
eral hundred eggs were taken from a few
of the largest fish, about six Inches long,
and it Is hoped that this beautiful trout
115
Sunapee Golden
Trout {Salve-
linus aureolus)
Not a Fly Fish
Favorite Fish and Fishing
may be successfully propagated, If only for
its handsome coloration.
This fine fish was first described by Dr.
Tarleton H. Bean, In 1887, from Sunapee
Lake, New Hampshire. It exists, also,
only In one or two ponds or small lakes in
the vicinity. It is almost identical with the
European char (Sahelinus alpinus) . It is
generally supposed to be native to the
waters mentioned, but there Is a possibility
that It was Introduced from Europe. How-
ever that may be it is now recognized as a
different species and a fine example of Amer-
ican trout. It grows to about twelve pounds
In weight, but unfortunately does not rise to
the fly. I have had no experience with this
fish, but Dr. J. D. Quackenbos, who, more
than any one else brought the fish to notice,
says:
" As far as known it does not rise to the
fly. . . Through the summer months
It is angled for with a live minnow or smelt,
in sixty or seventy feet of water, over cold
bottom, in localities that have been baited.
While the smelt are inshore, trolling with
116
The Trout
a light fly-rod and fine tackle, either with a Trolling with
Skinner spoon, No. i , or a small smelt on a ^"^^^^
single hook, will sometimes yield superb
sport."
117
HIS MAJESTY: THE SILVER
KING
HIS MAJESTY: THE SILVER KING
I
N Florida the tarpon may be found in Florida
during the winter east of Cape Sable In
Barnes and Cards Sounds, and In BIscayne
Bay. As the water becomes warmer, In
February and March, It ascends the coasts.
On the Gulf side It appears first at Marco,
back of Cape Romano, then In the vicinity
of Naples and Charlotte Harbor. Punta
Rassa was formerly, and Is yet, a favorite
resort for Northern anglers, but Fort
Myers, twenty-five miles above, on the
Caloosahatchle, Is now the principal rendez-
vous for tarpon fishing from March to
May. Later the silver king wanders far-
ther north, and during summer good fishing
Is abundant at any of the Inlets. It Is also
abundant on the Texas coast. On the east
coast of Florida, Jupiter and Indian River
Inlets are the best grounds for tarpon.
The largest I have ever seen were at Indian
River inlet.
121
Favorite Fish and Fishing
The tarpon Is a fish of the tropical seas
and Is pecuHarly sensitive to cold. I hap-
pened to be In Florida during the winters
of 1886 and 1895 when most of the orange
igroves were killed by freezing. At Tampa
the temperature fell to 19° F. As a result
of the sudden chilling of the water I saw
windrows of dead fish along the shores of
the bays, especially at Charlotte Harbor.
They were mostly sub-tropical fishes, and
among them were hundreds of tarpon, large
and small, many upward of a hundred
pounds.
Bait Fishing While the tarpon will take any kind of
fish bait, or artificial bait for that matter,
especially at the Inlets or up the streams,
mullet bait Is generally used; and the preva-
lent method of allowing the fish to swallow
the bait so as to hook him In the gullet will
probably always be practiced, for It Is the
only sure plan to bring him to gaff. If
hooked In the mouth or tongue when troll-
ing or casting, he almost Invariably shakes
out the hook and escapes. Once In a while,
however, one will be landed In this manner,
122
The Silver King
and even with the artificial fly, In which
event the honest angler feels a just pride in
his happy performance and is the envy of
them all.
I have had the best sport with tarpon, as Fly Fishing for
early as 1878, up the fresh water rivers, ^^^°°
using a salmon fly-rod and large gaudy flies.
These were the small fry, however, running
from ten to forty pounds, but even at these
weights they demanded the best skill of the
angler, inasmuch as they were hooked in the
mouth, and only occasionally could one be
landed.
At that time my old friend. Dr. Ken- Fishing at
worty, of Jacksonville, Florida, was wild ^yp^^
over tarpon fishing at Mayport, at the
mouth of St. John's River. But the Doctor
and his friends were using handlines, believ-
ing it impossible to kill one on the rod, and
moreover, thought it quite a feat to land one
with the handline, hooked in the mouth, as
indeed it was. I remember well a wonder-
ful array of big hooks attached to a metal
strip that the good Doctor showed me as his
latest Invention to hold fast to a silver king.
123
Favorite Fish and Fishing
I think It was owing to Dr. Kenworty's en-
thusiasm In the matter that Induced Colonel
W. H. Wood, of New York, an old striped
bass angler, to go to Florida to try conclu-
sions with the tarpon with striped bass rod
and tackle. At any rate, to Colonel Wood
belongs the credit of bringing rod fishing
for tarpon Into the prominence and popu-
larity It now holds.
The First In the winter of 1 8 80-1 Mr. Samuel H.
Rod °" ° Jones, of Philadelphia, while trolling with
the spoon In the Fort Pierce channel of
Indian River Inlet, hooked and landed,
after a contest of two hours, a tarpon weigh-
ing one hundred and seventy pounds with
striped bass rod and tackle. This was the
first tarpon of more than one hundred
pounds killed on the rod. I was at that
locality the following winter, and learned
the full particulars of the extraordinary
performance from Mr. Thomas Paine (son
of Judge Paine, of Fort Capron) , who was
Mr. Jones's boatman on the occasion. Af-
terward I received a full account of It from
a son of Mr. Jones, who was with him and
124
The Silver King
witnessed the capture of the immense fish.
It Is worthy of note that the fish was hooked
In the mouth and not In the gullet. Honor
to whom honor Is due.
In 1885 Colonel W. H. Wood, of New Record Tarpon
York, made rod fishing for tarpon famous
at Puntarassa. In March, 1886, I was
present when he brought In from Estero
Bay his record fish of one hundred and
forty-six pounds, and two others weighing
nearly a hundred each. They were hung
up and photographed by my shipmate,
Judge Nicholas Longworth, of Cincinnati.
My friend, Mrs. T. J. Bachmann, of The Largest to
Florida, formerly Mrs. Stagg, of Kentucky,
was high hook for many years with her two
hundred-and-five-pound fish, which was
mounted and exhibited in my department at
the Chicago World's Fair, together with
one of one hundred and ninety-six pounds
caught by Mr. McGregor, of New York.
Mr. Edward vom Hofe, of New York, In
1898, caught one at Captlva Pass weighing
two hundred and eleven pounds, and Mr.
N. M. George, of Danbury, Connecticut,
125
Tarpon Tackle
Tarpon Bait
Fishing
Favorite Fish and Fishing
afterward took one at Blscayne Bay of two
hundred and thirteen pounds.
The equipment for tarpon fishing con-
sists of a heavy striped bass rod, seven or
eight feet long, a first-class multiplying reel,
100 to 150 yards of Cuttyhunk line of from
18 to 21 threads, and knobbed hooks, Nos.
8-0 to lo-o. The tarpon has no sharp
teeth, but the edges of its jaws are sharp
enough to cut an ordinary line, and open
vertically. Owing to this fact it is impera-
tive that a snell of wire, whit-leather, or of
heavy braided cotton line be used.
Tarpon fishing, as usually practiced, re-
quires a level head, considerable muscle,
and a just appreciation of the tensile
strength of tackle. With no thought of
disparagement, it is none the less true, that
not much real angling knowledge — as that
term is understood in relation to salmon,
trout or black bass fishing — is required.
The hook is baited with mullet or other
fish bait, a long cast made, and the bait
allowed to remain on the bottom until
" negotiated " by the huge fish. Usually a
126
The Silver King
lot of slack line is pulled from the reel and
coiled in the boat, in order that the fish may
carry off the bait without hindrance, and
so be induced to swallow it, when he is
hooked in the gullet. Then the trouble
begins. Feeling the prick of the hook he
vaults into the air several feet, and contin-
ues to do so until exhausted, when he is
reeled in to the gaff or taken ashore into
shallow water, the latter plan being the
best.
Huge fishes like the tarpon, jewfish or Pumping Them
tuna are sooner brought to gaff by " pump-
ing," as it is called. It is effected in this
way: The rod is raised upward and back-
ward and then quickly lowered to a hori-
zontal position, when advantage is taken
of any decreased tension or slack line by
reeling it in as rapidly as possible. This
operation is repeated whenever practicable,
and as often as possible.
The plan of having a quantity of slack Tarpon Reel
line in the boat, as mentioned, is really not
necessary with a reel of the best quality, and
is open to several obvious objections. A
127
Favorite Fish and Fishing
tarpon would not notice the slight pull on
the line from such a reel, as it renders on
the slightest provocation. A leather brake
sewed to one of the bars of the reel, or one
of the patented drag-handles. Is absolutely
necessary In playing a tarpon, otherwise the
fingers are likely to suffer In consequence of
the fierce rushes of the fish for freedom.
A Tarpon My good friend Major-General Eustace
Hill, a retired ofl^cer of the British army,
whom I Initiated In tarpon fishing, declared
to me — after an experience of thirty-five
years in India, and ten summers in Norway,
salmon fishing — that the two finest sports in
the world were pig-sticking and tarpon fish-
ing, notwithstanding he has a record of
two hundred salmon in a single season —
and there you are. But the General Is one
of the " strenuous " type of sportsmen. By
the way his grandfather. Admiral Keppel,
the ranking oflicer of the British navy, died
a few years ago at the advanced age of
ninety- four years; by a special Act of Par-
liament he was continued In active service
until the day of his death.
128
The Silver King
During the winter months the tarpon Some of His
may be found In the shallow water of bays
of southern Florida, basking In the sun,
under the mangroves. In such situations
many are speared, or " grained," as It Is
called by native fishermen. But during the
summer they may be seen by hundreds roll-
ing and playing on the surface, at any of
the deep Inlets of either coast. At this
time the angler, by trolling or surface fish-
ing, may get scores of strikes In an hour,
but as to landing them — that Is another
fish story.
The tarpon breeds In the West Indies Breeding
and Central America, but not, I believe. In
Florida. At all events, as a collector of
fishes I have combed the shores and rivers
of Florida, with a fine-meshed seine, from
TItusvIlle on the east coast to Tampa on
the west coast, but never found a tarpon of
less size than a foot In length. If they
breed In the bays or rivers I certainly
would have found some smaller ones.
Late In the winter of 1892, when en- a Tussle with
gaged In the preparation of the United ^^^^^
129
Chance for a
Tarpon
Sarasota Bay
Favorite Fish and Fishing
States Fish Commission exhibit for the Chi-
cago World's Fair, my duties took me to
Florida to collect fishes for the purpose of
making gelatin casts of them for the great
exposition. I was very desirous of obtain-
ing a tarpon, but the season being backward
and the water cold, none had been taken
on the west coast up to that time — about
the middle of March.
One day John Savarese, a prominent fish
dealer of Tampa, informed me that he was
putting in a pound net in Sarasota Bay as
an experiment, it being the first ever intro-
duced on the west coast of Florida. Here,
then, seemed to be my only chance of get-
ting a tarpon, as the time allotted for my
stay in Florida was rapidly drawing to a
close. Mr. Savarese promised to give me
carte blanche Instructions to the man in
charge when the net was ready.
Accordingly, in a few days I left
Tampa on the steamer for Braidentown,
on the Manatee River, at the beginning
of a norther. At Braidentown I engaged a
carriage and drove across country, through
130
The Silver King
the pine woods, to Sarasota Bay, arriving
at The Palms, the charming little hotel
built by good Mother Jones, who is now In
Heaven. I enjoyed one of her matchless
suppers after my drive through the rain
and in the face of the fierce norther.
I found that the shanty of Captain Faulk- interviewing
ner, who had charge of the pound net, was
adjoining the hotel grounds. I interviewed
him that evening, when he promised to go
out to the net the next afternoon If the wind
abated. As I knew that the northers of
Florida lasted several days, and my time
was limited, I replied that I would visit the
net the next day.
On the next afternoon the norther was The start for
In full force and the sea running high. It
required a good deal of persuasion for
Faulkner to consent, but fortunately he
yielded at last to my entreaties. We em-
barked In a sixteen-foot rowboat — Faulk-
ner, a white man, a negro, and myself.
The net was two miles down the bay. The
wind was behind us, so we were soon there,
drenched with spray, and quite cold.
131
the Pound Net
The Expected
Happens
The Coveted
Prize
Favorite Fish and Fishing
The painter of the boat was made fast to
one of the net stakes, and the men got into
a large bateau that was moored alongside
the trap of the net. After closing the tun-
nel of the net and loosening the stays they
began hauling up the trap. Then the ex-
pected happened. A tarpon leaped high in
the air in his attempt to escape, but striking
one of the stakes, he fell back again into
the trap.
" Captain!" I cried, " don't let him get
away; that's the fellow I'm after! "
The net was swarming with fish of all
kinds and sizes, from a ten-inch mullet to
a ten-foot shark. Finally Captain Faulk-
ner got his gaff-hook into the tarpon's gills.
" What shall I do with him? " he asked.
^' Put him in my boat," I answered.
Which was easier said than done, for
It took the three of them to transfer him
to my craft, from which I removed the
middle thwarts to make room for his silver
kingship. He was deposited on the bottom
of the boat and the men resumed work.
Then the silver king rose up in his
132
The Silver King
majesty and stood on his tall, towering He Rose in His
above me, for he was over six feet tall. I ^^
Immediately grabbed him In my arms with
a grip born of desperation, for I knew It
was my last and only chance to secure a
tarpon. The boat was dancing about on
the crest of the sea and the north wind
howled. The palmettos on shore lashed
their broad fronds as they bent before the
gale. It was a difficult matter at best to
keep one's feet, but with a slippery silver
giant In one's arms It was a wonder that we
both did not go overboard.
But I held on to him and got him down A Slippery
In the bottom of the boat. No sooner ^^ °"^^^
down, however, than he was up again.
This time he slipped from my grasp and
went down full length on the bottom with
a noise like the felling of an ox In an
abattoir, causing the men to pause In their
work and look around.
"Let him go!" shouted the Captain.
" He'll knock the bottom of the boat out
and drown you ! "
" I'll risk It," I repHed. " I won't let
133
Favorite Fish and Fishing
him go If I have to go overboard with him.
I am bound to land him in Washington if
I have to go by water."
A Wild Dance I tried sitting on him then, but he would
not be sat down upon, and up he came
again. Again we had it, dancing about in
the slippery boat on a raging sea. It was
a medley of waltz, two-step, polka, and
galop, with a slimy silver king for a part-
ner. He seemed to weigh a ton and to be
ten feet tall. At last I got him down again
and replaced one of the thwarts above him.
I got out my knife, lifted up his immense
gill cover and severed his heart.
The men were scooping out their fare of
mullet, red-fish, and sea-trout. The large
shark, a number of smaller ones, plenty of
rays, and hundreds of other fish were still
in the trap. Seeing a fine whip ray some
four feet across and as spotted as a leop-
ard, I shouted, " Captain, I want that
whipparee ! "
A Whipparee They soon gaffed him and deposited him
on top of my tarpon. Then observing a
huge sting ray, larger than the whip ray, I
134
The Silver King
again called out: " Cap, gaff that big sting- The Stingaree
aree ! "
" Not much," he answered.
" Yes," I continued, " I really want him;
put him in my boat."
'' You don't mean it. Why, he'll kill
you."
" I'll risk it," I said; " haul him over in
my boat."
" I'm afraid of him. His sting is six
inches long ! "
I prevailed on him finally, and after
much careful management they hove it into
my boat. "Look out for his sting!"
cried Faulkner. " It's sure death! "
" 'Fore God ! Marse Doctor," said the A Scared
negro, "I wouldn't stay in de boat wid dat
debbil stingaree for a hundred acres in de
promise' land! "
But I covered the sting, the dreaded
weapon, with a piece of sailcloth and
planted a foot on each side of it. The
men then put their fare of marketable fish
on the top of my specimens, which kept them
in place, and then emptied the trap of the
135
Darkey
Favorite Fish and Fishing
A Blue Norther rest of the fish. Strange to say, the large
shark, at least ten feet long, was completely
smothered under the mass of fish and had
to be gaffed and hauled overboard by main
strength. It was now dark, with two miles
to row in the teeth of a blue norther. We
arrived at the hotel pier nearly frozen.
" Captain Faulkner," said I, " it's ten
dollars in your inside pocket if you get my
fish up to Hunter's Point by morning to
meet the Tampa fish steamer."
The wind lulled somewhat at midnight,
when they started in the sailboat; but it
took them until daylight to beat up the
fifteen miles to Hunter's Point, where my
specimens were put on ice with the market
fish and taken on the steamer Mistletoe to
Tampa.
Sorry Plight of The ncxt day but one I went to Faulk-
t e aptain ncr's shanty, by previous appointment, for
another trip to the pound net. I found the
Captain sitting by his stove in a sorry
plight. His head and face were swathed
in bandages and badly swollen.
*' Why, Captain! " I exclaimed, " what's
136
The Silver King
the matter? I want to go out to the net
this afternoon."
" Matter enough," he replied ruefully. Tic Douloureux
" I've been nearly dead with neuralgia from
going out to the net day before yesterday.
Look at my face ! I wouldn't go to-day
for all the fish in Sarasota Bay. You must
be made of whit-leather or whalebone! "
Next morning the storm subsided and I
returned to Tampa. At the fish house of
Mr. Savarese, I found my specimens in fine
condition in an immense icebox. We at
once began to pack them for shipment to
Washington. As the tarpon lay on the
floor Mr. Savarese asked, " What will he
weigh? "
"Well," I replied, "you may guess his A Sure Thing
weight, but I have had a Graeco-Roman
wrestling match with him and I know his
weight to a pound."
Mr. Savarese then measured him with a
tape line.
" Six feet and three inches," he an-
nounced, " and he will weigh one hundred
and fifty pounds."
137
Favorite Fish and Fishing
" No," I rejoined, " not so much. He
might weigh your figure In a few months
with plenty of food and warmer water, but
his present weight Is one hundred and
twenty-five pounds."
We put him on the scale, which he tipped
at one hundred and twenty-four pounds.
A Fair The hundreds of thousands of visitors to
the World's Fair who admired the grace-
ful proportions of this tarpon, In the gela-
tin cast, painted In life colors, and hung In
the Government building, little Imagined
the hardships and excitement attending Its
capture, or the subsequent swelled face of
poor Captain Faulkner.
Specimen
138
FLORIDA FISH AND FISHING
FLORIDA FISH AND FISHING
\T the yuletlde, or during the Christmas At the Yuietide
xV. holidays, the lakes and streams of
the North and West are locked fast in the
icy chains of winter. . The waters are then
a sealed book to the angler, who, unless he
indulges in the questionable sport of fishing
through the ice, is consoled only by retro-
spective pleasures when overhauling his
rods and flybooks. Not so, however, in
the sunny waters of Florida, where fishing
is, on the whole, at its best at the time of
the Christmas festivities, if such a season
can be realized by the Northern angler
amid the profusion of fruits, flowers, and
foliage.
To one accustomed to the merry jingle A Pleasant
of sleigh bells and to coursing swiftly, steel
shod, over the frozen pools he loves so
well. It is really a marvelous, but pleasing,
transition to be able to cast his bait or flies
during the season of the yuletlde.
141
Climate of
Florida
Better than the
Mediterranean
Favorite Fish and Fishing
Florida has one of the finest and most
genial continental winter climates In the
world. One can live In the open air the
winter through, without discomfort, as it
seldom rains during that season, and therein
lies the great and lasting benefit to the In-
valid who requires an open-air life and
nature's great restorers, fresh air, warm
sunshine, moderate exercise and sound, re-
freshing sleep. He will be told that
Florida has a damp climate by his physi-
cian who has never been in the state, and
will be advised to go to a dry climate. But
the dampness of Florida is not an exhalation
from the soil, which is dry sand, but is the
humid, salt air from the sea, which with
the balsamic fragrance of the pines, con-
duces to the health and well-being of the
invalid, and to the pleasure and enjoyment
of the angler and sportsman.
I have suffered more from raw, chilly
weather in the much-lauded winter climates
of southern France, Italy, and even Mo-
rocco, than in southern Florida. And
while the shooting along the Mediterranean
142
Florida Fish and Fishing
In winter is very fair for the red-legged Good Shooting
partridge, migratory quail and snipe, It Is
not to be compared with the shooting to be
had In Florida, either for abundance or
variety of game. In fact, Florida Is hardly
excelled by any state In the Union In Its
possibilities of fishing and shooting. And
then these sports can be practiced at a time
when the streams and lakes of the North
are bound In Icy fetters, and the woods and
fields burled beneath the hibernal mantle
of snow.
The angler can hardly go amiss In any Florida Fishing
section of Florida for his favorite sport.
Wherever there Is reasonably pure or un-
contamlnated water he will find some
species of the finny tribe. And the true
angler, he who loves the sport for Its own
sake, can be satisfied so long as his tackle
Is commensurate with his quarry. With his
stout tools and tackle he enjoys the phe-
nomenal leaps of the tarpon, or the levia-
than struggles of the jewfish. With his
delicate split-bamboo wand, silken line, gos-
samer leader and fairy flies, he enjoys
143
Favorite Fish and Fishing
equally well, perhaps more, the wary bream
or crapple of the fresh waters. Better still,
with suitable tackle the acknowledged game
fish, par excellence, of America, the black
bass, will yield him sport galore.
T^^.^^f^?^" The lover of sheepsheading will find his
head {Archosar- . r i i i
gus probatoceph- quarry about the pilmg of old wharves or
^^^^^ about the oyster reefs, while his bait — fid-
dler crabs — abound in myriads on the
beaches. I once saw the catch of a man
who took three hundred on a single tide
from Summerlin's cattle wharf at Punta-
rassa. He should have been indicted, tried
and convicted by a jury of honest anglers
and sentenced to a term of imprisonment
by a judge of fair sport. The sheepshead,
with its human-like incisors, is very adroit
at nibbling the bait from the hook, and
must be circumvented by a quick, sharp turn
of the wrist upon the least provocation or
intimation of its intentions; this will drive
the hook into Its well-paved jaw six times
in ten. When hooked, the sheepshead
makes strenuous efforts to reach the bottom,
which is very trying to a light rod. The
144
Florida Fish and Fishing
fish should be kept near the surface until
the spring of the rod compels it to give up
the contest. A school of sheepshead, in
their striped suits, reminds one of a gang
of prison convicts, begging their pardon
for the comparison; of course all compari-
sons are odious. The same rod and tackle
hereafter recommended for cavalll, etc.,
answers for sheepshead.
The cavalll, or jack, with Its second cous- The Cavaiii
Ins, the runner, the horse-eye jack, the hippol)^^
leather jack, amber jack and the pompanos,
are closely allied to the mackerels, and all
are game-fishes. The cavalll can be taken
with the fly, bait, or trolllng-spoon, and
when hooked puts up a vigorous fight. It
Is a handsome silvery fish, bound in blue
and yellow, and can be found about the
inlets and tideways. In rare Instances it
reaches twenty pounds In weight, but is
usually taken from two to ten pounds. Or-
dinary black bass tackle Is suitable for the
cavalll, with a sinker adapted to the strength
of the tide. For baits, any small fish, as
anchovy and pilchard, will answer, while
145
The Sea Trout
(Cyno scion
nebulosus)
The Spanish
Mackerel
{S comber omorus
maculatus)
Favorite Fish and Fishing
shrimp and cut bait can also be used.
Gaudy and attractive flies are the best for
fly-fishing, which can be practiced from
piers, a boat, or from the points of inlets.
The most popular way of fishing is by troll-
ing in the channels, when a spoon with but
a single hook should be used.
The sea-trout is a surface-feeding fish,
and a game one. It is not a trout, of course,
but is akin to the Northern weakfish, and
is called a trout, by courtesy, because of its
black spots. It takes the fly because it can-
not help it, and will give the angler ample
exercise with a light rod before it is landed.
Being more high-minded than the sheeps-
head, it does its fighting on the surface.
The sea-trout is not a bushwhacker nor yet
a guerilla. It sometimes runs up the streams
to fresh water.
The Spanish mackerel is not a whit be-
hind the sea-trout in gameness, or in its apti-
tude or fancy for the feathers and tinsel
of an artificial fly. It is the trimmest built
fish that swims, and always reminds me of
a beautiful racing yacht. It feeds and
146
Florida Fish and Fishing
fights on the surface and in the open, dis-
playing Its silver and blue tunic with gold
buttons to good advantage. They move
in battalions along the outer shores during
winter, but In March and April enter the
inlets In companies, and then afford fine
sport to the angler.
When the Spanish mackerel is running Shore Fishing
into the bays and Inlets, it is often accom-
panied by the sea-trout (spotted weakfish).
Both fishes are surface feeders and take
bait or the artificial fly eagerly, as stated.
They run In schools at this season, and are
readily seen as they plow along the surface,
creating quite a ripple.
The fishing at this time is practical from
wharves or the points of Inlets and passes.
The long piers at Port Tampa and St.
Petersburg on the west coast are favorite
places. The fishing is done on the flood
tide, mostly, but often at the last of the ebb.
No special directions are needed when the
fish are running in schools, except to keep
the bait or fly in constant motion on the
surface — the fish will do the rest.
H7
Favorite Fish and Fishing
Both are game-fishes of high degree, and
the angler will have all he can attend to
after hooking one on light tackle. As food
fishes they are excellent. I prefer to fish
from the sand-spits at the mouths of inlets,
or if near a pier to fish from a boat moored
alongside, as the fish are not so likely to see
one, and they are more easily landed.
Bait Fishing Ordinary black bass tackle is quite suit-
able for either fish, with fly or bait.
Braided linen lines are preferable, however,
to silk ones, as the latter soon rot in salt
water. A gut leader about four feet long
and snelled hooks, Nos. i to 3, are all right
for bait-fishing. The best bait is a small
sardine, anchovy or mullet, though the
casting spoon, with a single hook, or a
pearl squid of small size may be used if
kept in constant motion on the surface.
Fiy-Fishing For fly-fishing a single fly is sufficient, of
any bright pattern, with some gilt or silver
tinsel on the body, as the silver doctor, tied
on No. 3 hooks. A long-handled landing-
net is indispensable.
The kingfish — not the fish known by that
148
Florida Fish and Fishing
name In Northern waters, but a second cou- The Kingfish
Sin to the Spanish mackerel — is round along cavaiia)
the reefs from Cape Florida to Boca Chlca.
It Is one of the principal food fishes of Key
West, and Is taken by the fishermen trolling
with a strip of bacon rind, which Is some-
thing In the nature of an Indignity, for It
is a grand game-fish on the rod, and will
take fly or bait on long casts. It grows
much larger than the Spanish mackerel,
often to twent}^ pounds or more, and Is of
a more somber hue. Its cousin, the cero.
Is very similar In size and appearance, but
has dark spots along its graceful sides. All
of this genus are among the best for the
table, as all real game-fishes are.
The best member of the drum family Is The Redfish
the redlish, or channel bass. It Is one of oceiiatus/
the common game-fishes of the brackish
water bays on either coast. It is a hand-
some fish with a coat of old red gold and a
vest of silver and pearl. It Is characterized
by a large black spot near the tail: some-
times there will be two spots, and occasion-
ally these are split up into a half dozen.
149
Favorite Fish and Fishing
While the redfish is very susceptible to bait
It often rises to the fly, If a large and gaudy
one. In either event It offers a stubborn
resistance when hooked, and when of large
size — from twenty to forty pounds — a
good strong rod is a sine qua non, though
I once killed one on a Henshall rod of eight
ounces, which was fully thirty-five pounds
in weight. Most of the fish-scale jewelry
and artificial flowers are made from the
scales of redfish.
Groupers and All of the groupcrs, the red and black,
the scamp and gag, are game-fishes worthy
of the steel of the angler, and grow to
goodly size, twenty to forty pounds. They
inhabit comparatively deep water about the
Inlets, or along the outer shores and keys,
especially in rocky situations. Being bot-
tom feeders they must be taken with natural
bait, though the trolling-spoon has Its at-
tractions. Those named are rather sober in
their garb, which Is more or less marbled
or spotted with black, but some of the
groupers about Key West are remarkably
handsome fishes, and are much given to
150
Snappers
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Florida Fish and Fishing
very gay and bizarre attire; their coats, like Rag-Time Dude
Joseph's, being of many colors. They also
bear more aristocratic names, as witness:
John Paw, Nassau, Hamlet, Cabrilla, etc.
But the dude of the family is the niggerfish,
which Is a rag-time dandy, always In full
dress for a cake walk.
The snappers are worthy members of the
finny race. The red snapper is the most
widely known, commercially, being shipped
from Pensacola and Tampa to all Northern
cities. It Is a large, handsome fish, dressed,
Hke Mephistopheles, from snout to tail In
scarlet. As It Is taken only in deep water,
on the snapper banks, by hand lines, It Is of
no Importance to the angler. But the gray,
or mangrove snapper. Is a wary, active fish
and good game. It lurks under the man-
groves and must be fished for cautiously,
when It will rise eagerly to the fly, and
on light tackle is no mean adversary. Its
usual weight Is from one to three pounds.
The lane snapper, dog snapper, yellow- The Gay
tail and schoolmaster, are fine pan fishes, ^"^pp^^s
clothed In royal raiment, and frequent the
151
Favorite Fish and Fishing
channels amid the coral reefs near Key
West, where they are readily taken with
sea crawfish bait. The muttonfish is larger
and an esteemed table fish, and with the
other snappers is like the lilies, of which we
are told, " Solomon in all his glory was not
arrayed like one of these." It is a genuine
pleasure to the observant angler to capture
one of these fish, if only to gaze upon its
beauties, and watch the play of prismatic
colors as reflected in its gorgeous attire.
Fishing with light tackle for these lovely
denizens of the coral banks, with one's boat
rising and falling on the rhythmic swell of
the pure emerald green sea, is both a joy
and a delight.
The Ladyfish The highflyers, or finny acrobats, are the
tarpon, kingfish, ladyfish and ten-pounder.
The first-named is so well known that fur-
ther mention here is unnecessary, and more-
over I have accorded it a special article,
for it trots alone in its class; but while the
ladyfish and ten-pounder are only a couple
of feet in length, they are still worthy to be
named in connection with his silver majesty.
152
{Alhula vulpes)
Florida Fish and Fishing
They are built for aerial as well as for sub-
marine navigation, and dart so quickly from
one element to the other that it is somewhat
bewildering to watch one at the end of a
line. Twenty-five years ago I compared
the ladyfish to a " silver shuttle," for such
It appeared in Its efforts to escape when
hooked.
The angler visiting the region of Bis- The Ten-
cayne Bay will find considerable confusion samus)^
existing, not only among Northern tourists,
but among the residents, concerning the
proper identification of the ladyfish and ten-
pounder. They are two silvery, spindle-
shaped fishes that resemble each other very
closely In size, general outline and appear-
ance, and are known as the ladyfish or bone-
fish, and the ten-pounder or bony-fish; the
latter Is also sometimes called Jack Mar-
rlgle In Bermuda, and both fishes are not
Infrequently alluded to as " skip-jack.''
They are game-fishes of a high order and
of equal degree.
The confusion alluded to has been aired
In our angling papers for several years,
153
Confusion of
Names
Of Ancient Age
and Lineage
Favorite Fish and Fishing
sometimes with photo-Illustrations of the
fishes concerned, which, however, only
served to make confusion worse con-
founded. For Instance, I remember one
communication with an illustration of the
ladyfish, but which was stated In the text
to be the bonefish and not the ladyfish.
This confusion of names arose originally
from the fact that the names bone-fish and
bony-fish were applied indiscriminately by
native fishermen to both ladyfish and ten-
pounder; Indeed, the names ladyfish, ten-
pounder, and their synonyms bonefish and
bony-fish date back to our earliest history.
In Natal It Is called " springer."
Their scientific names were both be-
stowed by Linnaeus more than two hundred
years ago. Catesby, In 1737, called the
ladyfish of the Bahamas " bonefish," while
Captain William Dampler, one of the early
explorers, called the bony-fish of the Baha-
mas " ten-pounder." While the two fishes
are both allied to the herring tribe, they
belong to different families, though the
young of both species undergo a metamor-
154
Florida Fish and Fishing
phosis, or pass through a larval stage, in
which they appear as ribbon-shaped, trans-
parent bodies, totally unlike their parents.
As just stated, they belong to entirely Nomenclature
different families. The ladyfish {Albida
vulpes) ^ or bonefish, as it may be called,
is the only fish in its family {Alhulida)^
while the ten-pounder (Elops sauriis) , or
bony-fish, belongs to the tarpon family
(Elopida) , and like the tarpon has a bony
plate between the branches of the lower jaw
(hence bony-fish), which bone does not ex-
ist in the ladyfish. The proper identifica-
tion of the two fishes is really easier than
to distinguish between the two species of
black bass, or to differentiate a pike from a
pickerel.
The most pronounced difference is in the Differentiation
conformation of the mouth. The ladyfish
has an overhanging, pig-like snout, the
mouth being somewhat underneath, while
the ten-pounder has a terminal mouth, that
is, with the upper and lower lips meeting
in front, the same as in most fishes. The
scales of the ladyfish are nearly twice as
155
Tackle
Favorite Fish and Fishing
large as those of the ten-pounder, other-
wise, as to the general contour, silvery
appearance, and shape and disposition of
fins the two species are much alike to the
ordinary observer. So, If they are called
ladyfish and ten-pounder, their proper
names, and not bonefish or bony-fish, the
confusion at once disappears.
Tools and Black bass tackle, the rod not less than
eight ounces, is sufficient for either ladyfish
or ten-pounder. Sproat hooks, Nos. i to 3,
on long gut snells if no leader is used, are
large enough, for both fishes have rather
small mouths. Usually no sinker, beyond
a small box-swivel, is required when fishing
on the flood tide at inlets, unless the tidal
current is very strong, when it may become
necessary to use one of suitable weight.
The best fishing is at the mouths of inlets
during the flood tide, when the fish are feed-
ing on beach fleas, pompano shells, shrimps
and other crustaceans which roll in on every
wave, and are the best baits to use. A small
fish, an inch or two long, also makes a good
bait. The smallest casting-spoon, with a
156
O
O
Florida Fish and Fishing
single hook, or a small shell squid, may
often be employed with advantage, as well
as a small, bright artificial fly.
The fishing may be practiced from a boat
anchored just within the Inlet, or from the
sand-spits at Its mouth. At other stages of
the tide, especially at high water slack, good
fishing may be had In the shallow water
of grassy flats and sandy shoals, by making
long casts, for in such situations these fishes
are quite shy.
The snook Is a good game-fish, strong and The Snook
1 n ' 1 ^^ j (CentropoMUS
active, rises to the tly in shallow water, and undecimaiis)
will take any kind of fish or crab bait, or
the trolling-spoon. It is shaped somewhat
like the pike-perch, with the flattened head
and jaws of the pike minus Its sharp teeth.
It Is attired in a silvery mantle with a
broad, black stripe running along the side
from head to tail. It Is a fair food-fish
if skinned Instead of scaled. It is known
as snook on the east coast, and as rovallla
on the west coast, a corruption of Its Cuban
name, robalo. It grows to two or three
feet and twenty to thirty pounds. Heavy
157
The Jewfish
(Garrupa
nigritis)
A Good Food-
Fish
Favorite Fish and Fishing
black bass, or light striped bass, tackle Is
necessary to withstand Its fierce rushes when
hooked.
And last, but not least, comes the jew-
fish, the Gargantua of the water, though
clothed In a vesture of modest blackish
gray. It Is somewhat like a colossal black
bass In contour and appearance, and In fact
a closely allied species, the jewfish of the
Pacific, Is called black bass on the coast of
southern California. The David who slays
this Goliath of the deep should be proud
of his achievement. If It Is killed on the rod.
From twenty to one hundred pounds Is
about the usual limit of rod-fishing for the
jewfish, though a few have been killed on
the rod upward of two hundred or three
hundred pounds at Catallna Island on the
California coast.
At any deep Inlet of the west coast of
Florida, or about Key West, they may be
found, but never In great numbers. Unlike
the tarpon, the jewfish Is an excellent fish
for the table, and Is greatly esteemed at
Key West, where It Is cut In steaks and fried
158
a.
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Florida Fish and Fishing
in batter, when it is very toothsome. I Some Big Ones
helped capture one on a shark line at Jupi-
ter Light on the east coast in 1878 that
weighed three hundred and forty pounds on
the light-house steelyard, and United States
Senator Quay was a witness to the weigh-
ing. I was also particeps crhninis in taking
on a shark line another that weighed three
hundred pounds, at Little Gasparilla inlet,
on the Gulf coast, in the same year. And
farther up the coast, at Gordon's Pass, near
Naples, I killed a number on the rod that
weighed from twenty to sixty pounds. A
decade ago the south shore of this inlet,
under the palmetto trees which grew on the
steep bank, was a noted place for jewfish,
and much frequented by Col. Haldeman
and other Kentucky gentlemen who had
winter residences at Naples.
Another jewfish, a tropical species {Pro-
microps itaiara) ^ growing even larger than
the one named, is also found in Florida
waters.
I do not mean the universal and ubiqui- Catching
tous sucker so well known from Maine to
159
How It
Happened
The Remora
{Remora remora)
Favorite Fish and Fishing
California, but the so-called shark-sucker,
suckfish or remora. Perhaps every genuine
American boy has exercised his proud privi-
lege of catching suckers In the glad spring-
time, and some have doubtless continued the
sport in later life in Wall Street and other
similar fishing localities. But very few have
ever caught the shark-sucker or remora.
To be exact I never knew of any one but
myself who ever took one with hook and
line.
It happened in this way. My boat was
anchored in Sarasota Bay, Florida, when
one day I was examining the pintles and
rudder hinges before sailing, when I no-
ticed several remoras attached to the stern
of the vessel. With a hook and hand-line
and venison for bait I caught them all, four
of them. In less than four minutes, for they
were exceedingly voracious. When the bait
w^as dangled near one he immediately left
his anchorage and seized it.
The remora is one of the most interest-
ing fishes known to science. Its first dorsal
fin is developed as a sucking disk of an
1 60
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Florida Fish and Fishing
oval shape on the top of the head and nape. A Convenient
It is formed of a series of thin plates, or
laminae, overlapping like the slats of a
Venetian blind, and by which it can firmly
attach itself to a comparatively smooth sur-
face. I have seldom caught a shark or a
ray that did not have one or more attached
to its skin. When a shark seizes his prey,
and is cutting it up with his terrible teeth,
the remora is quick to discover any frag-
ments of the feast and profits by It, when
it again returns to its anchorage. It does
no harm to the shark, for it is not truly
parasitic, like the lamprey, but uses its host
as a means for- transportation and profit,
like the politician in the band wagon.
The remora is easily removed from Its As a Fishing
attachment by a quick, sliding motion, but
resists a direct pull to a remarkable degree.
Owing to this fact the natives of tropical
countries are said to utilize It for catching
fish, by fastening a ring and line to Its
caudal peduncle and casting it Into the
water to become attached to other fish,
when both are hauled in. I had often read
i6i
Favorite Fish and Fishing
of this, and once I tried it, but caught only a
loggerhead turtle of twenty pounds. The
strain on the remora, however, was so de-
moralizing to its physical economy that I
was fain to kill it.
Phosphate And while on the subject of queer fishing
I recall another instance. Commander
Robert Piatt, formerly of the U. S. Fish
Commission steamer Fish Hawk, and I
were once seining in Peace Creek, above
Punta Gorda, Florida. The crew hauling
the long seine were much bothered and hin-
dered by quantities of ragged rock getting
entangled in the seine. This afterward
proved to be phosphate rock of a valuable
grade, which was mined from the creek,
the land on each shore having been pur-
chased for a song by some enterprising
party. When in Washington a year or two
later I met Captain Piatt, who, holding up
his hands, exclaimed:
" Do you know what that ragged rock
In Peace Creek was? "
" Yes, phosphate rock of a high quality."
" Well, do you know what precious
162
Florida Fish and Fishing
chumps we were not to have purchased the a Missed^
land on each side of the creek? " pportumty
" Yes, Captain ' Bob '; and I met a gen-
tleman on the train yesterday who was the
party who bought It. He was on his way
to Washington to have Boca Grande made
a port of entry for shipping the stuff to
Europe. He also Informed me that he had
sold a third of his Interest for sixty thou-
sand dollars! "
'' Well, I'm d — lighted to hear It. Just
our luck! "
" Yes, Captain Bob," I returned, " it
was another missed opportunity. But we
were not looking for phosphate rock or
goldfish; we were simply looking for ripe
mullet. It all depends on the viewpoint."
I was once cruising In Barnes Sound and Spearing the
had for a pilot Captain Bill Pent, of Key
West, who was fully acquainted with the
numerous shoals and mud flats of those
shallow waters. Our experiences, as might
be imagined, were both novel and varied.
After seining the coves and shores for speci-
mens of the smaller fishes, we would give
163
Jumbos
Favorite Fish and Fishing
our attention to those of larger growth, in-
cluding such jumbos as barracuda, tarpon,
jewfish, sharks and sawfish.
Florida Some of these were taken with rod and
"Grains" y^^^^ ^^^ Other means were resorted to for
the largest ones. Pent was an expert In
the use of the " grains," a two-pronged
spear much employed in Florida. It has
a long and strong line attached to the spear,
with a handle for throwing which becomes
detached when a fish Is struck. Standing
In the bow of the dory, which I would pad-
dle cautiously up to the fringe of bushes
along the shore. Pent would hurl the grains
twenty, thirty or even forty feet, and sel-
dom failed to plant the barbs firmly In the
back of a huge fish as It lay sunning Itself
under the mangroves — then there was
something doing for ten or fifteen minutes.
Some Big Fish The largest barracuda we captured meas-
ured six and one-half feet, the largest tar-
pon seven and one-quarter, an Immense saw-
fish nineteen, and a man-eating shark fifteen
feet. But the liveliest tussle we had was
with a devil-fish of moderate dimensions,
164
Florida Fish and Fishing
eight feet across the pectoral fins — I have
seen them of twenty. Following the lead
of Victor Hugo, the octopus is often called
" devil-fish," but the name rightly belongs
to this fish, the largest of the rays {Manta
hirostris) .
The floundering and struggling of one Strenuous
of these aquatic giants, in shallow water, ^^ ^^^
was something to be remembered, while
the erratic pitching and lunging of the dory
as it followed the lead of the finny motor
was, to say the least, exciting. These large
fishes were towed ashore, killed outright
and dissected, in order to ascertain some-
thing in relation to their diet and time of
spawning.
One day we saw a porpoise in very shal- Porpoise
, -^ , . . , , 1 Calves
low water playmg with her two calves,
which were about three feet long. The
water scarcely covered them. Being some-
what curious as to the result, I took the
rifle and sent a bullet ricocheting across the
water just behind her. In great alarm she
gathered a calf under each flipper, and the
way she made the water fly with her fluked
165
A Pretty Baby
The Manatee or
Sea Cow
{Trichechus
laiirosiris)
Favorite Fish and Fishing
tail propeller In her eagerness to reach
deeper water was amusing, but not the less
remarkable. I could observe her plainly
for a hundred yards, and when she at last
disappeared in deep water she was still hug-
ging her calves.
Once at Mullet Key, in Tampa Bay, a
man at the quarantine station shot a por-
poise that was floundering in the water. I
saw that it was about dead, and procuring
a boat I towed it ashore. It was a female
and seemed to be gravid. I performed the
csesarian operation and found a single baby
porpoise nearly two feet long. It was a
beautiful animal, the upper half being slate
color and the lower half a fine rosy pink.
It was sent with other specimens to Wash-
ington and a cast made of It.
Another day while sailing in Barnes
Sound we ran across three manatees feeding
on a plant resembling eel grass. As we kept
very quiet we were almost upon them be-
fore they discovered the boat — then they
stood not on the order of going, but went
at once, and went in a hurry. The wake
i66
Florida Fish and Fishing
they left In the shallow water was equal to
'that of a large steam tug. For such un-
gainly looking creatures — the body nearly
as large as that of a horse — they were
remarkably active In escaping, but made a
fearful fuss In doing so. I had several
times seen manatees In the St. Lucie River,
a tributary of Indian River, but nowhere
else, and was much surprised to find them
in Barnes Sound.
About BIscayne Bay the angler will find Angling Along
fishing for large-mouth black bass, bream. Keys
etc., on Miami River, and at Arch Creek
above, and Snapper Creek below. For salt-
water fishing he will have all he can attend
to at almost any of the Inlets and passes
between the keys from Cape Florida to
Bahia Honda. Among the best are Bear
Cut, Caesar's Creek, Angelfish Creek, and
the channels between Rodriguez, Tavenler,
Long, Indian, Mattecumbe, Vaccas and
other keys. He will find the various chan-
nel fishes, and groupers, snappers, cavalli,
kingfish, cero, etc., In addition to ladyfish,
ten-pounders and a host of others. If he
167
Angling on the
East Coast
In the Lagoons
Favorite Fish and Fishing
visits Cocoanut Grove, my old friend,
Charles Peacock, will put him on to the
best fishing grounds.
The best salt-water fishing on the east
coast is at the various inlets, though good
fishing is found also in the lagoons and in
the fresh water streams emptying into them.
My own experience begins with Mayport
at the mouth of St. John's River. Here and
at most of the inlets to the south can be
found redfish, spotted weakfish or sea-trout,
sheepshead, drum, snooks, together with
such smaller species as pinfish, pigfish,
croakers, flounders, etc.
At St. Augustine there is fair fishing at
the inlet and in Matanzas River. Near
Ormond and Daytona on Halifax River,
and below at Mosquito Inlet, the angler"
will be well rewarded. Fair fishing may
also be found on Hillsboro River near New
Smyrna and Oak Hill. Some sport is still
to be had in the neighborhood of Titusville,
on Banana River and Banana Creek.
Back of Rockledge are lakes Poinsett
and Wilder, abounding in black bass. Sev-
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Florida Fish and Fishing
eral places on Indian River furnish excel-
lent fishing, as Sebastian River, Indian
River Inlet, Gilbert's Bar, and the waters
around Jupiter Light. Farther south, on
Lake Worth, Hillsboro' and New River
inlets, the fishing is still better, and the
fishes larger.
St. Andrew's Bay and neighborhood at Angling on the
the northern end of the peninsula will not
disappoint the angler. Farther south, in
the vicinity of Cedar Key, and at the sev-
eral rivers below — Withlacoochee, Crystal,
Homosassa, Anclote, etc., and at the passes
on Clearwater Harbor, the smaller species
abound, with occasional big ones. Tampa
Bay, Sarasota Bay, Lemon Bay, Charlotte
Harbor, Marco and other bays, with their
numerous Inlets and passes and tributaries
are not excelled in the world for the variety
and excellence of their game-fishes, large
and small.
Tarpon and jewfish require special rods Tools and
and reels. The largest groupers, barracu-
das, amber jacks, bonltos, etc., require
striped bass rods, reels and lines, while
169
Favorite Fish and Fishing
most of the other fishes mentioned may be
easily handled with a good ash and lance-
wood black bass rod of seven or eight
ounces, multiplying reel and corresponding
tackle. Sproat hooks of various and suit-
able sizes cannot be excelled for any kind
of Florida fishing, if of the best quality.
Almost any kind of bait, natural or arti-
ficial comes in play — mullet, pilchard or
anchovy for surface-feeding fishes; crabs,
fiddlers, beach fleas and cut bait for bottom
feeders. Trolling or casting-spoons or spin-
ners can often be substituted for other baits.
With the During the winter of 1889-90 I had
Commissk)n charge of a scientific expedition to the Gulf
of Mexico with the schooner Grampus, of
the U. S. Fish Commission. I did the
shore work of collecting fishes and fish food
along the west coast of Florida, from Bis-
cayne Bay around Cape Sable and north-
ward to Tampa Bay, and secured nearly
three hundred species of fishes and many
crustaceans. For this work I had a mack-
erel seine boat, thirty-four feet long,
rigged with foresail and mainsail. At
170
Florida Fish and Fishing
night I fastened a sprit as a ridge pole be-
tween the two masts, and with an awning
from the Grampus I housed the boat in
completely.
One sunny morning I sailed from John's Sport with
Pass and entered Gordon's Pass, a few ^
miles south of Naples, about noon. While
the men were preparing dinner and getting
the seines and collecting outfit in readiness,
I had some fine sport with jewfish, running
from fifteen to forty pounds, on a ten-ounce
rod. A few hundred yards from the mouth
of the pass, on the south shore, where the
bank is very steep and crowned with pal-
mettos, the water is quite deep, and was a
favorite resort for jewfish, as heretofore
mentioned.
After dinner we proceeded to haul the a Good Haul
long seine, and just as It was landed, filled
with all manner of fishes, four negroes came
driving up the beach in a mule cart, two
men and two women, to where the seine
was being hauled ashore. They leaped
out of the cart at once, consumed with curi-
osity as to the contents of the seine. The
171
Favorite Fish and Fishing
oldest woman was an Immense specimen,
weighing about two hundred and fifty
pounds, and with a beam as broad as the
cart. The other woman was a comely
mulatto girl, her daughter. I had just
gaffed a small horned ray, a devil-fish, about
four feet across its wing-like pectoral fins.
The fat and dusky gargantuan female
came waddling down the beach as fast as
her short legs could carry her. On seeing
the rather formidable and frightful looking
ray, she recoiled in horror and exclaimed:
The Darkeys " Good Lawd ! Wat Is dat ting, mls-
and the Devil- ^ i -> m
fish tah?"
" That's a devil-fish. Auntie," I replied.
" Fo' de lan's sake ! It sho' luks lak de
debble! Luk, Rastus; luk at his ho'ns and
tail!"
Then turning to her daughter, she said :
" Go 'way, honey; don't come anigh dat
ugly varmint; he sho' swallow yo' or prod
yo' wid his ho'ns."
I assured her and the other terror-
stricken darkles that no harm would befall
them provided they did not approach too
172
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Florida Fish and Fishing
near. Turning to the fat woman, I asked:
*' When did you leave Kentucky, Auntie? "
*' Good Lawd, mistah ! How'd yo' know
I fum Kalntucky? You must be cunjah
man."
" Why, Auntie, as soon as you opened Old Kentucky
your mouth I knew you were from Ken-
tucky; I'm from Kentucky myself," I an-
swered.
" 'Deed, honey, I'm pow'ful glad to see
yo'," she said. " Why, dar's lots o' people
fum Kaintucky up to Naples. Kurnel
Haldeman and Gen'l Sarah Gordon Wil-
liams is bofe dar; and Miss Rose, Pres'dent
Grove Cleveland's sistah, she dar, too, at
de hotel." Then she added, " I'm de cook
for Miss Lizzie M'Laughlin; she keeps de
hotel."
It seemed that the cook and her party A Good Catch
had come down to the pass to fish, but as I
gave them more fish than they really
needed, they concluded to return at once to '
Naples, especially as the jolly cook declared
that, " Dat debblefish dun spile my appe-
tite fo' fishin'."
173
Favorite Fish and Fishing
I handed my card to her, with the request
that she take It to Colonel Haldeman, or
General " Cerro Gordo " Williams. They
departed In great glee, but with furtive
glances at the devil-fish on the beach. As
they started off, the corpulent cook shouted:
A True Angler " Good-by, mistah; hopes to see you
soon. Say, mistah, we all's gwlne to 'tend
lak we cotch all dese fish wid we alFs fish
lines."
" All right. Auntie, I will not give you
away," I replied.
She evidently had one of the qualifica-
tions of the true angler.
The Founder of Late In the aftemoon I saw a lady and
a gentleman coming down the beach In a
handsome carriage, drawn by a pair of
trim-looking mules. I soon recognized
Col. W. N. Haldeman, of the Louisville
Courier-Journal, and his good wife. Col.
Haldeman was the founder of Naples,
where he had a charming winter home.
(His sad death through a trolley-car acci-
dent will long be regretted and mourned
by his many friends.)
174
Naples
Florida Fish and Fishing
The Colonel and his lady insisted on my A Kentucky
dining with them that evening. I pleaded
that I had nothing to wear but outing
clothes, and was not presentable. They
would not be refused, however, the Colonel
saying that it was their first drive in the
carriage, which had been on its way six
weeks from Louisville, and that Mrs.
Haldeman had honored me by coming her-
self to invite me. Of course, I had to
accept their kind invitation, as I could
proffer no more excuses, and especially as
the Colonel promised me a real Kentucky
dinner; that settled it. We had a delight-
ful drive up the beach on the hard sand at
low tide, and the dinner was to the queen's
taste: Oyster soup, baked redfish, venison
steak, and the Kentucky feature, a roast
'possum with a lemon in its mouth.
After a most enjoyable evening with a Moonlight Ride
happy company, myself and one of my
darkey acquaintances of the morning
mounted two saddle mules for a moonlight
midnight ride down the beach to the pass.
It was a high, spring tide, compelling us to
175
by the Sea
Favorite Fish and Fishing
occasionally abandon the beach where cov-
ered with water, and take to the scrub,
much to the evident fear of the negro, who,
I soon discovered, was very timid and
superstitious. He started at every sound
In the still night — the puffing of a porpoise
in the water or a 'coon or 'possum scurry-
ing through the thick scrub or the weird cry
of a night bird caused him to blench with
evident fear and trembling. At the leap
of a large fish, a tarpon or jewfish, that
struck the water with a resounding splash,
he whispered :
** Doctah, was dat a debblefish? "
" It might have been," I replied.
Voices of the Just then a bull alligator in the bayou
^^ ^ back of the beach emitted a terrible roar,
followed by the discordant cries of all sorts
of waterfowl; and, as it happened, some
large animal, a horse or cow, or perhaps a
deer, fled at our approach and crashed
through the scrub. Altogether the various
sounds were somewhat appalling, and cal-
culated to alarm and distress a more coura-
geous person. At last we reached the pass,
176
■ '^"'""1
Devils
Florida Fish and Fishing
and my boat, with its white canvas roof
glaring In the light of the full moon, broke
on the gaze of the astonished darkey-
through the trees, and as It moved this way
and that, responsive to a slight breeze. It
seemed an uncanny thing to the thoroughly
frightened man as he moaned :
" O Lawd; O Lawd ; dar's a spook ! De Spooks and
debble will sho' cotch me. I wish I was
back in ole Kalntuck. Oh, doctah, I sho'
am 'frald to go back to-night. I sho' saw
de debble's eye shinin' in de bresh, and
heard de splash of his tall in de watah, all
de way down. Please, sah, let me stay In
de camp till de mawnin'."
I saw that he was really terrified, and
that it would never do to let him attempt
to return to Naples alone that night. Ac-
cordingly we hobbled the mules, and I made
him a bed In the boat, where he soon was
snoring and making as loud and uncouth
noises as any " debble " was capable of.
In the morning I gave him a good breakfast
and started him home with the mules, the
happiest coon In Florida.
177
Favorite Fish and Fishing
Florida Up to J have not been in Florida since the win-
Date
ter of 1896-7, but even then it had greatly
changed from the old Florida I knew as far
back as 1878. At the present day my old
cruising and camping grounds near Rock-
ledge, Lake Worth and Miami are famous
winter resorts, with large and commodious
hotels whose luxurious appointments and
service are unsurpassed in the world.
Both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, as
well as the interior of the State, are now
well-populated by Northern people, mostly
engaged in raising sub-tropical fruits and
early vegetables. Marshy lands, once the
resort of innumerable water-fowl, have been
drained and cultivated. The pine forests
and flat woods where once the cowboy
reigned supreme, and where the deer and
wild turkey roamed at will, have been deci-
mated or destroyed by sawmills and turpen-
tine stills. The rookeries of the cypress
swamps and wooded keys have been laid
waste by the plume hunter, so that the
flamingo, pink curlew and egret are now but
empty sounding names.
178
Florida Fish and Fishing
But while the greed and Improvidence
of commercial fishermen have greatly re-
duced the numbers of not only mullet, but
redfish, sheepshead, sea-trout and other bay
fishes, there still remains the best and most
varied fishing In the world for the angler
who cares more for real sport than a big
creel.
In the brackish bays the channel bass, Fishing Galore
cavalla, snook, sea-trout, croaker, sailor's
choice, etc., w^IU furnish all the sport,
either with bait or fly, that the reasonable
angler can desire. So, also, at the Inlets
and passes he may enjoy the matchless
sport afforded by the ladyfish and ten-
pounder. Along the reefs and keys at the
end of the peninsula he may troll or cast
his lure for the kingfish, Spanish mackerel,
amber jack and bonlto. Along the rocky
shores the groupers and large snappers will
freely respond to his baited hook, while in
the channels about the keys those beautiful
pan-fish, the grunts, porgles, snappers and
other fishes of the coral banks, may be
taken ad libitum.
179
INDEX
INDEX
Absurd names for brown trout, iii.
Abundance of trout, 8i.
Ambition, youthful, 7.
Angler's recital, 8.
Angler's view-point of flies, 76.
Angling along east coast of Florida, 168.
along Florida Keys, 167.
along west coast of Florida, 169.
charm of, 12.
enthusiasm for, 5.
in the lagoons of Florida, 168.
love of, 6.
parlous times in, 3.
Arctic grayling, 45.
Artificial baits, 25.
flies, dark or light, 78.
flies, for black bass, 24.
flies, for grayling, 44, 56, 57.
flies, for trout, 72.
flies, in their season, 77.
flies, management of, 24, 54, 83.
flies, philosophy of, 74.
At the yule-tide, 141.
183
Index
Baby porpoise, i66.
Back-log reveries, 66.
Bait fishing, for black bass, 25.
for brook trout, 90.
for Florida fishes, 144, 148, 150, 156.
for grayling, 57.
for tarpon, 122.
Baits, artificial, 25.
Barracuda, the, 164.
Batiscan Falls, 99.
river, 95.
Black bass, the, 3.
appearance and habits, 10.
bait fishing, 25.
breeding habits, 18.
fishing, 5.
fly-fishing, 24.
in new waters, 6.
in olden time, 9.
leap of, 13.
pond culture, 23.
propagation of, 22.
season for fishing, 10.
size and weight, 19.
skittering for, 37.
stlU-fishing, 38.
tools and tackle, 26, 27, 30, 31.
Blue norther, 136.
Bozeman fisheries station, 51.
184
Index
Breeding grounds of tarpon, 129.
Brown trout, no.
absurd names for, in.
as a game fish, iii.
fly-fishing for, 112.
in Yellowstone Park, 112.
Casting baits, 28.
overhead, 29.
the minnow, 26.
Catching suckers, 159,
Cavalla, the, 145.
fly-fishing for, 145.
tools and tackle for, 145.
Channel bass, the, 149.
Charms of angling, 12.
Chief function of reels, 32.
of rods, 71.
Climate of Florida, 142.
Condition vs. theory about flies, 79.
Cut-throat trout, 102.
Dame Juliana Berners, 43.
Darkey and devil-fish, 170.
Devil-fish, the, 164.
Distribution of black bass, 20.
of grayling, 49.
Dolly Varden trout, 109.
Dry-fly fishing, 86, 87.
185
Index
of srsyifri^. 5-2-
I-_- :i of sport, j-
Fair specfmen. a. 138
Fishing reels. 31.
rods. 26.
Fish story. 91.
Fshes. leap of. 13.
way witTL a bait. 17.
Fishing galore, 179.
Fshing on. the verge. lOOt
Florida, climate. 142.
tsh and nshing, 141.
grains* 164-
: -:::.. 178-
i: . : : .ishes. ^3.
Fly-dsamg for black bas. 24.
for cavalla. 146.
for grayling, 54-
for sea-tTGut. 148-
f"r tarpon. 123.
":.t. 82, 86-
7 - - "" - 174.
r: , : :- ^-■■^-- ■ 172.
Gameness of grayling, 45.
Gay snappers,. 151.
186
Index
Gilead, balm in, 68.
Golden trout of Kem River, 114.
of Sunapee Lake. 116.
of Volcano Creek, 114,
of Sierras. 113.
Good haul, a, 171.
Grayling, the, 43.
Arctic, 45.
as a game-fish. 52.
distribution, 51.
fishing. 53.
food and haunts, 49.
^lichigan, 46.
Montana, 46.
Propagation, 52.
tools and tackle, 56.
Groupers and snappers, 150.
Habits of black bass, 18.
of grayling, 49.
of tarpon, 129.
His Majest}-. the silver king, 121.
In olden time, 9.
In old Quebec, 96.
Jack Marrigle, 153.
Jewfish, the, 158.
some big ones, 159.
1S7
Index
Jewfish, sport with, 171.
Kentucky welcome, 175.
KIngfish, the, 149.
Lacs du Rognon, 97.
Ladyfish, the, 152.
confusion of name, 154.
differentiation, 155.
fishing for, 157.
tools and tackle for, 156.
Leaping of fishes, 13.
Leviathan fishing, 3.
Love of angling, 6.
Lowering the tip, 84.
origin of the rule for, 85.
Manatee, the, 166.
Mangrove snapper, 151.
Michigan grayling, 46.
Millions saved, 23.
Minnow, casting the, 26.
Missed opportunity, 163.
Monasteries and grayling, 60.
Montana grayling, 46.
Moonlight ride by sea, 175.
Mother Nature's sanitarium, 68.
Non-rising of trout, 79.
188
Index
Old Kaintiick, 173.
Origin of short casting rod, 27.
Overhead casting, 29.
Parlous times in angling, 3.
Passing of brook trout, 65.
Michigan grayling, 47, 61.
Peculiar eye of grayling, 48.
Phosphate fishing, 162.
Philosophy of artificial flies, 74.
Pipe dreams, 67.
Pleasant transition, a, 141.
Porpoise baby, 166.
calves, 165.
Position of reel on rod, 33.
Practical hints for trout fishing, 82.
Pride after a fall, 67.
Propagation of black bass, 22.
grayling, 51.
Pumping tarpon, 127.
Rag-time dude, 151.
Rainbow trout, 107.
in new waters, 108.
Recital, the angler's, 8.
Redfish, the, 149.
Red snapper, the, 151.
Red-throat trout, 102.
Reels, chief function of, 32.
189
Index
Reel fishing, 31.
for tarpon, 127.
for trout, 72.
on top or underneath, 34.
position on rod, ^^.
something more about, 32.
Remora, the, 160.
Restigouche River, 94.
Riband in cap of youth, 8.
Rock}^ Mountain species, loi.
Rods, fishing, 26, 56, 70, 120, 156, 170.
short bait-casting, 27.
Rovallia, the, 157.
Sanitarium, Nature's, 68.
Scared darkey, 135.
Sea-cow, 166.
Sea-trout (brook), 92.
Sea-trout (Florida), 146.
Sheepshead, the, 144.
Silver king, the, 121.
Silver shuttle, 153.
Skip-jack, 153
Snappers and groupers, 150.
Snook, the, 157.
Something more about reels, 32.
Sorry plight of captain, 136.
Spanish mackerel, the, 146.
fly-fishing for, 148.
190
Index
Spanish mackerel, shore-fishing for, 147.
Spearing the jumbos, 163.
Spooks and devils, 177.
Sport, ethics of, 4.
St. Ambrose and the grayling, 43.
Steelhead trout, 105.
Stingaree, a, 135.
Strenuous fishing, 165.
Suckers, catching, 159.
Sunapee trout, 1 16.
trolling for, 117.
Sure thing, a, 137.
Tarpon, the, 121.
enthusiast, 128.
fishing for, 122.
habits of, 129.
in Florida waters, 121.
records, 125.
the first on a rod, 124.
tussle with a, 130.
Ten-pounder, the, 153.
confusion of name, 154.
differentiation, 155.
fishing for, 157.
Tic douloureux, 137.
Tools and tackle for black bass, 30.
for brook trout, 70, 91.
for Florida fishing, 169.
191
Index
Tools and tackle for grayling, 56.
for red-throat trout, 105.
for tarpon, 126.
Trout, the angler's pride, 65.
fishing for, 82, 86, 89.
non-rising of to fly, 79.
tools and tackle, 71.
why it takes the fly, 75.
Trout's view-point of flies, 76.
True angler, a, 174.
Tussle with a tarpon, 129.
Twin evils, 29.
Vaulting ambition, 14.
Virgin trout stream, 94.
Voices of the night, 176.
Wet-fly fishing, 89.
Whipparee, a, 134.
Winninish, the, 93.
Yellowstone Lake trout, 104.
Youthful ambition, 7.
192
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